Chefchaouen (Arabic: شفشاون, romanized: Shafshāwan, IPA: [ʃafˈʃaːwan]) is a city in northwest Morocco.

He settled in Chefchaouen c. 1465 and, due to his experience as a warrior, was chosen as successor to his cousin ibn Abi Jum'ah and leader of the mujahideen in the northwest of Morocco.

He fought alongside the emir of Tétouan, Ali al-Mandri, who married his daughter, the Mujahida Aisha al-Hurra.

[7][8][additional citation(s) needed] Pressures of the Reconquista and the fall of Granada in 1492 led many of its people to immigrate to Morocco over several centuries.

[7][additional citation(s) needed] In October 1920, General Dámaso Berenguer occupied the city for the Spanish protectorate in Morocco.

[10] Following the Spanish retreat from the city,[10] Chefchaouen was part of the Republic of the Rif led by Abd el-Krim from 1924 to 1926.

[11] In September 1925, in the middle of the Rif War, a rogue squadron of American volunteer pilots, the Lafayette Escadrille, bombarded civilians in the city.

[16] Chefchaouen is located in a territory traditionally inhabited by Jebala, subsequently joined by Muslim and Jewish refugees from al-Andalus and Spain.

[2] The city has maintained strong relations with the inhabitants of the Jbala Region such as Akhmas, Ghomara, Ghazaoua, and Sanhaja tribes, particularly in terms of trade.

The yards are often decorated with fruit trees such as oranges, lemons, berries, and grapes, as well as some perfumed shrubs including night-blooming jessamine (Cestrum nocturnum) and jasmine (Jasminum officinale).

At the level of each dshar (low-density rural settlements), the houses are built around a mosque or a marabou and occupy the center of the concentric spatial structure of traditional agro-sylvo-pastoral systems.

This spatial distribution of dshars is tightly associated with arable land and availability of water resources, with shifting cultivation limited to a diffuse strip of matorral shrubland and pasture that mark the transition to forests.

However, this traditional agro-salvo-pastoral system has been deeply affected by multiple processes of modern socio-cultural and economic transformation.

Some of the major religious and social occasions include:[19] Despite the diversity of these ceremonies, observances of similar characters are present in almost all of Morocco.

This network encourages policy discussion and mutual learning between its members, to forge collaborations and develop abilities and designs tools to support and identify progress.

Other traditional crops such as grape vines, almonds and figs are still cultivated, although cannabis monoculture has become more profitable than these with an increased influx of tourists in recent decades.

The commercial sector is one of the main economic supports of Chefchaouen, bolstered by tourism activity and remittances from workers abroad.

[26][15]: 82 During the holidays, the city sees a considerable influx of Moroccan and foreign tourists, attracted by its natural landscapes and historical monuments.

[31] The handicraft sector or traditional industry (e.g., sewing, cupping, blacksmithing, carpentry, needlework, and tanning) is the most common economic activity practiced by Chefchaouen's population and thus plays key a socio-economic role in this province.

[14] The oldest part of the Medina is the Kasbah, the original citadel founded in the late 15th century by Ali ibn Rashid.

The fortress consists of a roughly rectangular enclosure protected by walls built in rammed earth (pisé).

The museum's exhibitions are focused on archeological objects and ethnography and they are located on the ground floor of a historic house in the northeast corner of the enclosure.

[14] The house was likely built in the late 17th century during the reign of Moulay Ismail, probably by Ali Errifi, the local governor.