The Green Door in Chefchaouen

I’m sure a lot of you would’ve seen the green door in Chefchaouen. I had seen it on a few blogs and really wanted to see it for myself. It’s just a door though. It wasn’t anything of historical significance.. But we ended up having a beautiful moment there.

The only problem was that we didn’t know how to get there. We knew it was outside the Medina but didn’t really know where exactly it was. We strolled around trying to look for it. No luck. We decided to have a bite before we continued our venture to find the green door.

We were at Restaurant Sofia having some delicious Pastilla. I thought to ask the waiter about this door. I showed him a picture from a blog. He shakes his head and says he doesn’t know. But he wanted to ask his mom to see if she knew. He took my phone and came back a few minutes later. The green door is apparently just 2 minutes away from where we were. Just turn left at the Hammam which is in the square.

We took a few pictures when we got there. There was a man sat on a chair in the little square where the green door was located. We asked him to take a few pictures for us. He happily snapped away and afterwards asks us where we’re from. We said we’re from the Maldives but he didn’t know about our country. So we showed him where it is and a couple of pictures. He seemed impressed. We offered him some money for taking the photos for us. But to our surprise, he declined. This was the opposite of everything we read and watched before coming to Morocco; almost everyone required some sort of compensation for any sort of service they provide.

As we were about to leave, he asks us to come inside his shop. We followed him inside where he showed us to his terrace. We were blown away. The terrace had the most breathtaking views of the blue city with the Rif mountains in the background. The hustle and bustle and all the background noise disappeared. It was as if he had led us to a secret haven. We enjoyed the peace and quiet as we took in the views that Chaouen offered. The blue city had a hint of orange as the sun was getting ready to set. We were ecstatic.

He proceeded to tell a bit about himself. Originally from Fes, he has been working at that shop for 22 years. Although not his own shop, he takes care of it like his own. He explained to us where the leather comes from. To our surprise, it’s from the factory of the owner of the tanneries we visited in Fes.

He asked for a few pictures with us. He asked us to send him these pictures. We asked for his number to send him the pictures. He looked at us and laughed. He took out his small flip phone and waved it at us. ‘No, you can post it to me’. He gave us his postal address and showed us a few pictures of his life. He had a few pictures with a couple of tourists who had all posted him the pictures taken at his shop or terrace. We promised him we’ll do the same. Would love to be in his ‘hall of fame’. He had pictures of his golden days. A few of his former Rastafarian self as well.

His shop had all sorts of souvenirs, including Moroccan bean bags which I’ve wanted to buy since I saw them first in Marrakech. But for one reason or the other, I hadn’t bought one yet. Maybe it was fate. I decided I’ll buy one from his shop. It was our last day in the city anyway, so why not. In case you might not have noticed, we’re very naive when it comes to kind people. We would want to do everything we can to help them. Even if that meant paying a bit more. I ended up buying a beautiful rustic brown bean bag made out of camel leather. He said it will last more than 20 years. Um, well let’s see about that shall we..

As we were leaving, we thanked him for his kindness. I said to him that I’ve wanted to buy a bean bag since arriving in Morocco and that I’m glad I’ve finally got one. He said to me that God has led me to him.

My search for the green door had let me to this old man and his shop where I ended up buying what I had wanted since day one. So yes, I agree with you Abolenbi. 😊

Happy Travels!

Amana

If you enjoyed this post on Morocco, why not have a look at our 10 day itinerary for Morocco here?