Medina of Tétouan
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How it came to be
Tétouan is a town in northern Morocco, and from the 8th century it was the main point of contact between Morocco and al-Andalus. In 1286 the Marinids built a kasbah and a mosque here, and in 1305 Sultan Abu Thabit enlarged and fortified the town as a base against Ceuta. In 1399 Castilian forces destroyed it because pirates were using it for raids.
At the end of the 15th century the ruins were rebuilt by Muslim and Jewish refugees from the Reconquista. Andalusians led by Ali al-Mandri, a captain loyal to Boabdil, the last Nasrid king of Granada, first raised the walls and then filled the enclosure with houses. The town's art and architecture still show a clear Andalusian influence.
Tétouan later became a base for corsairs, and the underground prisons where captives were held, the mazmorras, appear in the works of Cervantes. Though one of the smallest medinas in Morocco, it is the most complete, and it has been largely untouched by later outside influences. It was inscribed in 1997.
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