Sur les terres oubliées des Petites Iles de la Sonde
Sur les terres oubliées des Petites Iles de la Sonde
MEDITERRANEAN MOROCCO
Facing the rising sun, the Rif coast describes an immense crescent from Ceuta to Oujda, protected in the south by tangled mountains, difficult to access, covered with deep forests, sheared by ravines on which not the least blade of grass can't hang on. It was not the Garden of Eden: the streams of milk and honey do not flow through these flowering valleys.
So that the men of the Rif had to periodically leave their mountains to harvest and harvest the others. Nobody came to their house. This is why their coast, otherwise so attractive, was the least popular in Morocco. It was yesterday. Today, these landscapes which can remind Navarre or Lozère are accessible, a beautiful road now describes the coast: the Rif is no longer an island, but a destination of character. Where the impression of being the first is not always unfounded. Since the Rif has been an island for so long, it has something left. It is an old story but deserves to be told.
Rif.
The valleys are linked endlessly, like a green slide, most often arid but sometimes crossed as here by valleys of oleanders. The relief offers belvedere series that multiply the points of view
Rif.
If the mountains are not the highest in Morocco - Mount Tidighine only reaches 2,450 meters - they are the most airtight. The valleys, separated from the Mediterranean or the Atlantic influence, can be very dry, or even resemble the steppe. Very segmented, isolated universe, which forged the famous Rif character.
Tetouan.
Construction game, model, dream of a Cubist painter, Tétouan settled a few kilometers from the sea, near a small but reassuring estuary. A city that is not elusive but not easy to approach, and that you learn to love: you have to take your time, forget your references, conquer it. It’s not a city you meet “on your way”, you have to choose it, look for it
Tetouan.
The agreement is so perfect between the small flowerpot and the clothing of this Rifaine that went to the market, that I still suppose that the seller imagined it. White pot like his haik. Pink and white stripes, like flowers. The woman immediately “flashed”. I can still see his astonishment at this harmony, these correspondences. Immediately, she called her partner, as if she were saying to him: "Look, it's like us! "
Even the head of the sunflower recalls the little pompom on his hat.
Tetouan.
Its name means "springs" that feed gardens and orchards.
"The city presents the most laughing aspect that one could see" said one esthete.
It is a lively, picturesque, lively city, gifted for (good) surprises. And its region is magnificent.
Tetouan.
Souk el Sebt by Saïd.
