Traveller.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 451, 8 December 1904, Page 7

Traveller.

TETUAN : TKE ALJUJOR* Of MOROCCO. "|""ETU AN, which is of pspeeial interest I to English people at the- present juncture, is perhaps the nmst picturesque city in Morocco. It is situated on . the slopes of an outlying spur of the Biff Mountains, some forty miles south-east of Tangier and about six miles from the Mediterranean—Marteen, its harbour, being the only Moorisl' -port on tho Mediterranean (for Ceuta is, cf course, a Spanish possession)—and has a population of some twenty-five thousand, including several hundreds of Spaniards. Tetuan is said to be threatened at tho present time by the turbulent Riff tribes, always ready to take advantage of disturbed conditions in the Saltan's dominions; but as it is, for a Moorish city, fairly well fortified, the situation does not seem so serious as if it were not walled.

The town has a chequered and romantic history, and its fortunes are more closely bound up with those of Spain than any other North African city. Perhaps this accounts for the fact that modorn mips boldly assign Tetuan to Spain, as if it were another ' Presidio' like its neighbour Oeuta, or Melilla on the Algerian frontier, As a matter of fact, Tetuan was taken and occupied for a short time by the Spaniards in 1860, in the famous Moorish campaign of O Donnel (created afterwards Duke of Tetuan); and it was restored to the Moors in the following year. The Spaniards were inordinately proud of this barren conquest, and there is hardly a city in Andalusia which does not possess a street (Calle Tetuan) named after the Moorish stronghold. A considerable number of the inhabitants claim descent from the Moors expelled from Granada by the fanaticism of Ferdinand and Isabella. Indeed, it is said—and it is none the less worthy of credence because it is one of the stock legonds of the guide-books—that some of the descendants of these noble refugees still cherish the hope of returning some day to Andalusia ; and because of this aspiration they carefully preserve the title-deeds and even the keys of their ancestors' homes in Granada. The scenic charms of this African Alhambra are undeniable ; in fact, it is , one of the most picturesque cities in the world. The tourist from Targier gets his first view of the city when some fifteen miles off. With its prominent walls and towering minarets and dazzling white houses lifted high on a mountain ridge, apparently overhung by precipitous mountains,'it presents a, magnificent spectacle, as it suddenly comes into view when the rider tops the last hill just before entering the Tetuan plain. I : '■■ :■

Considering that a ride to Tetuan is one of the stock excusions of visitors to Tangier, long a favourite winter resort with .English people, it is curious how little is known about the place. Some years ago J. remember seeing a sensational pieture of the route to Tetuan in a well-known illustrated weekly, in which the artist-had carefully placed telegraph-poles, and to give the requisite Oriental touch he. had bestrewed the route with skeletons of camels I As to telegraphs, there are none in Morocco ; and the trade is far too- stony and rough for camels ; indeed, they are not often seen on this rou(# except when the track crosses the Pex caravan-route. As for the so-called road, it is a track of the roughest description. In fact, there are no roads, as Europeans understand the word, in the whole.empire, with the exception of the remains of a military road from Ceuta to Tangier, built by the Spaniards in the 1860 expedition. The route from Tangier to Tetuan varies with the season, as is customary in uncivilised countries. The whole country between the two towns is gridironed fey lines of /wandering footpaths, some of them deeply worn by centuries of donkey, mule, and horse traffic.

The scenes in the Tetuan market-place are,, if- possible, even inore Oriental than the market-scenes.-in .. the Tangier ' soke-.' Indeed,.'the'' soke-' is almost commonplace in comparison, owing to its having been so much described with pen and pencil. Here the scene.■■ is far more fascinating and .picturesque, and without the disfiguring element, from an artistic standpoint,, of the European tourist. Very few knickerbockered tourists are to be seen, armed with the inevitable kodak. The pictures shift like the bits of glass in a kaleidoscope ; and it is at first difficult to pick out the salient features. There are groups of camels squatting in the dust, moving their ugly necks with a peculiar snake-like action, attended by villainous-looking Riffs in dirty embroidered robes. Donkeys loaded with vegetables or charcoal, watersellers, and sweet-sellers push and elbow their way through the throngs of dignifiedlooking Moors, stalwart negroes, , gaily dressed Jewesses, and swarms of halfnaked children. On the fringe of the crowds sit imperturbable money-changers; and hawkers of fruit and vegetables are squatting in front of their stock-in-trade piled up in heaps on mats spread on the groud, flanked, perhaps, on one side by a seller of charms and on the other by a dealer in ' couscous ' (very small balls of minced meat and flour, fried in oil). Then, just outside the main throng, in the centre of an admiring ring of idlers, will be seen a snake-charmer or a professional story-teller. The men outnumber the women by ten to one at least; but occasionally the observant traveller will notice, among the few women to be seen, one wearing curious leggings of morocco-leather. These are really survivals of the ' fascia' of their Roman conquerors, which were formerly worn by the Moorish women of Granada, as is shown in a curious picture in Granada Cathedral representing the baptism of the Moslem women after the conquest of Granada. The quiant booths and covered alleys which serve as the bazaar of Totuan are far more picturesque than those of Tunis or Cairo. Here, too, it is possible to pick up curios which were not made in Birmingham' or Paris 1 Some of tho dealers have wares which have come direct from Mequinez, Marakesch, Fez, or even Tiinbuctoo. Here will be found barbarous embroideries and other curiosities. Totuan is famous, also, as a manufactory of red and yellow slippeis and bags of the soft leather named after the country of its manufacture. The ordinary tourist rarely has an opportunity of seeing one of the most interesting features of Tetuan: a genuine Moorish interior; for the ' show-house' of the guide is hardly representative of one of the hidden palaces of tho rich merchants of Tetuan. The studiously plain exterior gives no hint of the splendour within. You enter, by an insignificant door in what seems like a blank wall, a large open patio suggostive of the Alhambra, with fountains and fish-ponds; all round is an arcade with lavish tilo ornamentation, and with galleries above opening into cool recessed apartments. For spaciousness, eleganca, and sumptuousnoss there is nothing in Tangier to equal this typical specimen of a Tetuan house, whose glories, to tho passerby, are masked by a forbidding blank wall. Unlike Tangier—where the game in the vicinity of ■ this town has bepn appreciably by Gibraltar sportsmen, officers on leave,

i «o« —Tetuan makes a convenient oentre for thetourist;?*-sporting proclivities. Then i? very quail,, and duok shooting,, in seasons within-a few miles ; 0 f the town, and partridges abound ui. the ..interior;*, is to be had m and also a certain amount of\sea-fishing % at Port Marteen. Except* near Tangier, 'there is no close-, season, and nothing is preserved exeept storks and-monkeys, which aire held aa sacred by the natives. However, tourists, and especially Sportsmen, would do well to remember that it is impossible to hire good horses or mules, or even guides or attendants,' at the time of the annual visit of the legation to his Shereefian Majesty at ; Fez or Morocoo city, which generally takes place in the spring, as all tho best mounts are engaged for those attending the various missions.