Lime and pigment

What it is

What is meant is the coating on the façades of Chefchaouen: lime with more or less indigo produces the various shades of blue in the alleys that are regarded as the town’s hallmark.¹ Almost all the houses and even some of the alleys are painted, in shades from light to dark blue.² The front doors are blue too; a study of the women goat keepers of the medina mentions them as the blue doors of Chefchaouen.³

In Moroccan Arabic, lime and limewash alike are called zir, and the verb ziyyer means to whitewash; indigo is called nili.⁴

Where it comes from

Chefchaouen lies in the Rif in northern Morocco. According to the Ministry of Culture, the town’s kasbah was built in 1471 (876 AH) under the emir Ali ben Rached, first as a military building and at the same time as his seat, called Dar Al Imara; a rammed-earth wall with thirteen towers encloses it, together with an Andalusian garden of 2,300 square metres, a small mosque, a prison and a stable.⁵ The town itself was founded in 1471 and completed in 1480⁶; it is known for its blue- and white-tinted façades.⁷

History

How the blue came about is not settled, and the inhabitants do not agree on it.⁸ Explanations given include mosquitoes, which the colour is said to keep away, the nearness of the sea, the Ras el-Maa spring outside the town and sparing the eyes in summer.⁹

Older residents remember that at least 30 years ago the façades were white and contained only a little indigo, to soften the glare of the light.¹⁰

What it is made of

Le360 names lime and indigo¹¹, Middle East Eye a mixture of chalk and coloured water.¹² As it dries, lime hardens with the carbon dioxide in the air and becomes as hard as stone.¹³

When

In spring, when the winter rains have washed the town, the residents repaint their walls or touch up worn patches; the local authorities provide them with brushes for this.¹⁴