Chechaouene

Also spelled  Chechaouen  or  Chefchaouen , French  Chaouen , Spanish  Xauen , Arabic  Shafshawan   Muslim holy city, northern Morocco, situated in the Rif mountain range. Founded in 1471 by the warrior Abu Youma and later moved by Sidi Ali ibn Rachid to its present site at the base of Mount El-Chaouene, the city became a refuge for Moors expelled from Spain. A holy city long closed to non-Muslims, it was occupied in 1920 by the Spanish, who restored it to the Moroccan kingdom in 1956. Chechaouene