• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Time Travel Turtle

A travel blog with stories beyond the brochure

  • HOME
  • ABOUT ME
  • CONTACT ME
  • BY COUNTRY
    • WEST EUROPE
      • Belgium
      • England
      • France
      • Germany
      • Ireland
      • Liechtenstein
      • Luxembourg
      • Netherlands
      • Northern Ireland
      • Scotland
      • Switzerland
      • Wales
    • NORTH EUROPE
      • Estonia
      • Finland
      • Latvia
      • Lithuania
      • Norway
      • Sweden
    • SOUTH EUROPE
      • Cyprus
      • Gibraltar
      • Greece
      • Holy See
      • Italy
      • Malta
      • Portugal
      • San Marino
      • Spain
    • EAST EUROPE
      • Austria
      • Belarus
      • Croatia
      • Czech Republic
      • Hungary
      • Montenegro
      • Poland
      • Serbia
    • NORTH ASIA
      • China
      • Japan
      • Kazakhstan
      • Kyrgyzstan
      • Mongolia
      • North Korea
      • Tajikistan
      • Uzbekistan
    • SOUTH ASIA
      • Cambodia
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Myanmar
      • Malaysia
      • Nepal
      • Philippines
      • Singapore
      • Sri Lanka
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • NORTH AMERICA
      • Antigua & Barbuda
      • Belize
      • Canada
      • Costa Rica
      • Guatemala
      • Mexico
      • USA
    • SOUTH AMERICA
      • Argentina
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Uruguay
    • AFRICA
      • Egypt
      • Morocco
      • Namibia
      • South Africa
    • OCEANIA
      • Australia
      • New Zealand
    • MIDDLE EAST
      • Jordan
      • Turkey
  • MOST POPULAR
    • The world’s oldest backpacker
    • Orangutans in Borneo
    • The need for speed
    • Trying to get out of the slum
    • The lake swamped with tourism
    • Journey into Dreamland
    • The village where life begins again
    • Is Cambodia safe for travellers?
    • Making the perfect gin and tonic
  • UNESCO

A Moroccan Monday market

August 8, 2020 | Michael Turtle | 5 Comments

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

Tetouan, Morocco

It’s Monday and that means it’s market day in Tetouan. Stalls cover the footpaths and shoppers jostle with motorbikes on the streets. It starts in the medina – the narrow labyrinth of alleyways – and flows out through the gates of the ancient wall to the newer parts of the city.

This medina is not the largest in Morocco – in fact, it’s pretty much the smallest. But it’s considered to be one of the most intact and authentic.

Tetouan is located on the northern coast of Morocco and was of key importance for the relationship with Andalusia from as early as the 8th century. The influences of this contact with Spain can be seen in some of the design and art here.

Local market in Tetouan, Morocco

Very little has changed inside the medina’s walls over the centuries – in terms of the architecture, that is. On a market day like this, I wonder how much has changed culturally too.

This is how I think it would have been once upon a time: the fishmongers thrusting their scaly wares in your face, pens of live chickens waiting to be chosen for tonight’s dinner, bags of spices almost overflowing, piles of vegetables on sheets, and the stalls so full of odds and ends that you don’t even know where to start.

If you’re interested in discovering more about the local flavours, there’s a good local food tour of Tetouan.

Local market in Tetouan, Morocco

Tetouan is built on a steep slope rising out of a valley that has mountains mirroring it on the other side. The market and the permanent shops all seem to be in the narrow streets at the bottom.

When I try to take the stairs further up, I get hopelessly lost. The winding paths constantly lead to just dead ends.

There must be some way to get between the alleyways without going back down to the bottom and starting up another… but it’s invisible to me.

Local market in Tetouan, Morocco

Still, the upper areas of Tetouan’s medina are just full of houses. They’re interesting to look at, especially considering the significance of their architecture. But the real action is happening back amongst the jostling crowds and insistent shouts of the vendors in the market.

You can actually do a quick trip to Tetouan on the way to Chefchaouen with this tour from Tangier.

I’ll leave you with a few more photos of a busy Monday market day in Tetouan in Morocco.

Local market in Tetouan, Morocco
Local market in Tetouan, Morocco
Local market in Tetouan, Morocco
Local market in Tetouan, Morocco
Local market in Tetouan, Morocco
Local market in Tetouan, Morocco
Local market in Tetouan, Morocco
Local market in Tetouan, Morocco

THE BEST ACCOMMODATION IN TETOUAN

Although you will find a bigger range of accommodation in nearby Tangiers, there are some lovely options in Tetouan.

BACKPACKER

The cheapest hostel in town is usually Darna Hostel – and luckily it is also the best.

BUDGET

For great value right in the medina, I recommend Riad Las Mil y una Noches.

BOUTIQUE

A more upscale riad in the medina, El Reducto has an incredible rooftop terrace.

LUXURY

And, while you won’t find five stars in Tetouan, Hotel Chams is a decent luxury hotel.

This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For more info click here. You can see all the UNESCO World Heritage Sites I’ve visited here.
Morocco Travel Guide

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MOROCCO?

See my Morocco Travel Guide

To help you plan your trip to Morocco:

  • My tips on the best things to do in Marrakech
  • Why it’s worth doing a side trip to this seaside city
  • Visit an incredible World Heritage Site used for filming Game of Thrones
  • My suggestions for the best things to see in the Medina of Fez
  • What you’ll find when you explore the blue city of Chefchaouen
  • The grand buildings of the old imperial city of Meknes
  • Finding the new and the old in the capital city Rabat
  • Visit the ancient Roman ruins that are now a World Heritage Site
  • How to deal with touts in Morocco
  • Details about all the World Heritage Sites in Morocco

Let someone else do the work for you:

You may also want to consider taking a Morocco tour, rather than organising everything on your own. It’s also a nice way to have company if you are travelling solo.

I am a ‘Wanderer’ with G Adventures and they have great tours in Morocco.

You could consider:

  • Morocco Kasbahs and Desert (8 days)
  • Highlights of Morocco (15 days)
  • Sahara and Beyond (15 days)

When I travel internationally, I always get insurance. It’s not worth the risk, in case there’s a medical emergency or another serious incident. I recommend you use World Nomads for your trip.

Reader Interactions

    Comments Cancel reply

  1. Pedro @travelwithpedro |

    April 9, 2015 at 11:49 am

    Reply

    Hi Michael, great post! I was in Tetouan a year ago and really liked it. Nice medina, market and very friendly people – a good change, compared to Marrakech.

    • Michael Turtle |

      April 12, 2015 at 1:58 pm

      Reply

      Yeah, it’s much more laidback, isn’t it? The big medinas in Marrakech and Fez are a lot of fun but it’s nice to see one that’s small and local. Gives you a good constrast.

  2. Yassine |

    April 23, 2015 at 12:57 pm

    Reply

    hello micheal !!
    i came across the web and i found your article, i’m a social media manager for some travel agencies, nice to meet you here.
    I live in Barcelona but i’m very proud to be from Tetouan, yeah man, my lovely small city , thank you so much for this article, i love it.

    Do you accept a guest blogger ??

    Thank you

    Kind Regards

    Yassine

    • Michael Turtle |

      May 17, 2015 at 4:50 pm

      Reply

      Hi Yassine. Tetouan was a lovely place – how cool that you grew up there. Did you get lost running up and down the little alleyways in the medina? 🙂
      Unfortunately I don’t have guest posts on my site but stay in contact.
      Cheers!

  3. Maureen Connolly Hofving |

    December 30, 2016 at 3:58 am

    Reply

    Hi Michael,
    Nice post about Tetouan. I’ve been watching The Time In Between / El Tiempo Entre Costuras on Netflix and the series takes place in Madrid, Morocco and Portugal from Spanish civil war through WW2 – really well done. The Spanish seamstress lives in Tetouan during the program and I wanted to find out more so I came across your page. The program is in Spanish (I teach French & Spanish here in NY) but it has English subtitles. I think you’ll find it fascinating since you write about travel.

    I hope you are enjoying the holidays!
    Kind regards,
    Maureen

    Here’s a little about the program and a You Tube clip:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLZGkwp84w4

    Storyline

    Sira Quiroga is a young Spanish dressmaker engaged to a solid suitor when a suave typewriter salesman upends her life. Spain is being upended by a civil war and the new regime’s growing alliances with Nazi Germany. Sira, smart, gutsy and resourceful with a Scarlett O’Hara-like ability to whip up designer duds on a moment’s notice, Sira has spunk. Sira gains and loses a small fortune, is dumped by her cad of a lover in Morocco, runs guns to get the cash to start her life anew and becomes couturier to the Nazi wives stationed in Madrid. Urged on by her friend, the real-life British spy Rosalinda Fox, Sira, too, aids the British cause. Written by Anonymous

Primary Sidebar

This is the website of travel writer, Michael Turtle. After working in broadcast journalism for a decade in Australia, Michael left Sydney to travel the world indefinitely and write about the places, people and experiences he discovers. This isn't a diary - these are real stories from the world.

Want Occasional Updates?

Sign up to be the first to hear the latest about the adventures of Time Travel Turtle. You'll also get access to special offers and exclusive news.
Thank you! You have successfully subscribed to our newsletter.

Search

  • PRIVACY POLICY