Looking for an unique art decor piece for your renovated space? Wishing to bring a piece of Morocco into your home? If you're not quite ready to pack your suitcase and hop onto a plane yet, please read on for the solutions I have for you.

Let's continue our Moroccan journey and head to the blue town of Chefchaouen. If you missed the first part of the trip, you can catch up on Casablanca, then Essaouira and Marrakech, the not-to-be-missed desert scenes, the landscapes of the Atlas Mountains and the craft city of Fes.

Aside from the Sahara Desert, I'd have to say Chefchaouen was my second favourite place in Morocco. Perhaps it's due to the fact that blue is one of my favourite colours, perhaps it's the calm atmosphere created by the blue walls, blue doors, and blue staircases wherever I turn. Or perhaps it's the disbelief that a town could be so stunning when painted in various shades of blue, accented by bright red or pink colours here and there. 

There are different theories on why the town is painted blue. As the colour blue symbolizes the sky and heaven, it's believed the town was painted blue as a reminder to live spiritually. Others believe it's a way to keep mosquitoes away and keep the houses cool in the summer heat. It may also be related to the colour of water, to bring calmness, happiness and optimism. The tradition continues today, perhaps as a way to attract tourists to this blue city.

After dropping our suitcases off at our hotel, we ventured out with our cameras and this is the scene I saw...isn't it amazing?

The mural painted on this wall depicts the town so well - blue walls framed by blue arches, blue steps lined with plants in blue flowerpots, locals dressed in blue. 

Below are some of my favourite scenes; these exist in reality, though they may look like paintings - the shades of blue colours and the textures, so minimalistic yet so beautiful! 

Simplicity in Blue-2My second favourite photo from Chefchaouen - another minimalistic image that I can hang on my wall. The blue blocks of colours on the walls are balanced by the pale blue of the ground and steps. The 2 potted plants offset each other - one is larger in size while the other one is smaller, one is a lighter blue while the other is a darker shade of blue. Where will this passage lead? Let's go up the steps to find out!

Besides the flowerpots, accent colours can be found on staircases too. This colourful pattern decorated the steps in front of a hotel, welcoming guests with each joyful step they take.

Accent colour can also be in the form of a bright red fire hydrant, half camouflaged with the wall behind.

The wall below has art patterns painted on using darker shades of blue, mimicking the curves in the tree trunk. Starting from late morning, many tourists can be seen in this town browsing through the colourful products sold by vendors, such as the bags seen in the mirror's reflection.
 

Yet another way to add a colourful punch to the blue-washed walls is the clothesline strung in front of this home, and the bright fuchsia and cyan coloured clothes hung out to dry. 

The locals also act as contrasting elements to the blueness of the town.

Chefchaouen Resident-2

Chefchaouen Resident-7

I had fun observing the contrasts in fashion styles - a local resident in her patterned outfit and a tourist bride in town for her wedding photos!

Chefchaouen Resident-3  

Next to tourists, another common sight in Chefchaouen are cats - curious ones peeking out by the door, or sitting on a step to bask in the sunlight.

  Basking in the LightThis cat found the perfect spot on the doorstep to catch the sunlight. It's also one of the few doorways that's not painted blue in Chefchaouen, but in pink!

In the evening, we found this spot to capture the blue town during blue hour. In this scene, the accent is provided by the glowing golden minarets.

And here's an abstract version of the same scene, taken a while later as the sky turned dark. Which version do you like?

To see more photos from Chefchaouen, please visit this photo gallery in my travel portfolio. Which photo from this town did you like most?
 

Friendly hint: you can buy these prints from my online shop, or contact me for customized sizes and print medium. My entire collection of photos from Morocco can be found in my photo book "Patterns of Morocco" - you can see an excerpt here. If you'd like to order a copy of the book for yourself or your family, friends or clients, please reach me via the Contact form.

I hope you've enjoyed this visit to Chefchaouen, and all the places we've visited on this journey - Casablanca, Essaouira, Marrakech, the Sahara Desert, the Atlas Mountains and Fes. This concludes our virtual photo tour of Morocco. I hope you've found a Moroccan photo art piece that you'd like to hang in your home or office, whether it brings back memories from your trip there, or as an inspiration to travel to Morocco in the future!

Please feel free to post comments on this blog about the Morocco photo tour, or reach me via the Contact form to be notified of future photo journeys! Until then, take care and stay safe!