Most people see Morocco as being a boring desert nation with one big city named after the movie "Casablanca." And even from the most learned geography nerds, cities in the country’s north go amiss. From a standpoint of architecture and planning aesthetics, Morocco is often overlooked. But the reality is, Morocco and its northern cities are some of the most beautiful places in the world. My father immigrated to the United States when he was 19. Growing up, he would tell the stories of what his childhood was like in his city, Tetouan, was like. The imagery of playing soccer in the city’s streets, climbing mountains and going to the beach, taking the ferry to Spain whenever money wasn’t tight, and the celebrations in the village square when Moghreb Tetouan beat Tangiers in the darby soccer match. Up until 2010, these were only stories to me.
The first time that I went to Morocco, I was 6 years old. During this trip, I remained relatively sheltered to the actual nitty and gritty aspects of Tetouan due to my age. But, it was the first time I had to attempt to communicate in a language other than English. I remember using a mėlangerie of my limited Spanish, French, and Arabic to talk to family and friends. The people in Tetouan are quite social, more so than in the states, and I remember having many conversations with people in the city’s famed medina. This brings me to my first point about Tetouan: compactness. Jane Jacobs would love Morocco because of its medinas, which is a zone of compact and walkable street markets that anyone can set up and sell goods. It’s an amazing cultural exchange that immersed me into a world of culture and tradition that I’d never seen before. The way Tetouan is planned supports the development of these medinas. Imagine the white, cubical housing style commonly associated with greek coastal cities, but with beautiful mosques and wide-open plazas integrated into housing elements. This way, people have places to exchange and congregate. However, the city’s architecture and planning isn’t the only way that Tetouanis share their culture; Religion connects both the citizens and the architecture of the city.
One memory I have from Tetouan that completely changed me took place the second time I visited. When dusk came and fast broke during Ramadan summers, we would have a plentiful meal. One night after this meal, my Basidou (grandfather) invited me to come to the mosque. As the waves hit the Mediterranean coast and the people prayed on the rooftop mosque, it was there that I discovered a piece of my identity. And no, it wasn’t religion. It was a desire to connect back to my Moroccan side. That night, I played the same street soccer with the Tetouan kids that my father did when he was my age. I climbed the mountains and went to the beach. I watched that darby soccer game. And from then on, I’ve tried my best to connect back to my Moroccan roots.
Making myself fluent in french so I could speak to my family helped, but I still have a burning desire to go back to Tetouan.
Hopefully soon. Inshallah.
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