Al-Andalus in Morocco: the families who crossed the strait

When Granada fell in 1492, and again when Spain expelled the Moriscos in 1609, Muslim and Jewish families crossed to Morocco. They brought their houses, their gardens, their names and their music, and you can still hear it.

For nearly eight centuries, from 711, al-Andalus and Morocco were one world across the strait; Almoravid and Almohad sultans ruled both shores. Andalusians settled in Fes as early as the 9th century: one half of the old city is still called the Andalusian quarter, with its own great mosque.

Tetouan was rebuilt in the 1480s by refugees from Granada led by Sidi al-Mandari; its white medina, which UNESCO lists since 1997, is the most Andalusian in Morocco. Chefchaouen was founded in 1471 by Moulay Ali ibn Rashid as a fortress, and grew with families from Granada. In Rabat and Salé, the Hornacheros, who left Spain shortly before the expulsion orders, and the Moriscos expelled after 1609 built the Kasbah of the Udayas quarter and, for a time, a corsair republic at the mouth of the Bou Regreg.

Al-Ala, the classical music of al-Andalus, survives in Morocco as the nuba, long suites for voices, oud, violin and percussion; eleven of the old nubas are still played. Orchestras in Fes, Tetouan and Rabat keep it alive, and you hear it at weddings and festivals.

The horseshoe arch, the shape that frames every Wakha page: its curve runs past the half circle and closes in below its widest point. Builders in al-Andalus and Morocco made it their own; you see it in the gates of Fes, Rabat and Tetouan. Drawn by Wakha.

Where to see it today

Tetouan medinaTetouan
White houses, artisans' streets and the School of Arts and Crafts; less visited than Fes.
ChefchaouenThe Rif
The kasbah and the blue lanes; the Andalusian garden inside the kasbah walls.
Kasbah of the Udayas and its gardenRabat
The Andalusian garden and the Morisco houses above the river mouth.
The Andalusian quarterFes
The Andalusian Mosque on the right bank, facing the Qarawiyyin quarter.
Al-Ala concertsFes, Tetouan, Rabat
Ask your riad about a concert; Fes holds a festival of Andalusian music.

Opening hours and tickets change; we list them only where an official source states them. Ask at your riad the day before.

One route that strings it together

Tangier, by the ferry from Tarifa
Cross the strait the way the families did.
Tetouan
The Granadan medina, one day.
Chefchaouen
Two nights in the blue town.
Fes
The Andalusian quarter and an evening of al-Ala.
Rabat
The Kasbah of the Udayas, Morisco Rabat.

What visitors say

A family found Tetouan's medina calm, with few touts and much easier than Marrakech, though with fewer places to eat and stay. Travelynn Family

Sources, checked 2026-11-14

The other layers

The Amazigh heritageTamazight and Tifinagh, kasbahs and ksour, rugs, Imilchil The Roman and ancient heritageVolubilis, Lixus, the Chellah: Phoenicians, Mauretania and Rome The Arab-Islamic heritageAl-Qarawiyyin, Moulay Idriss, the madrasas, the Koutoubia, Hassan II The Jewish and Hebrew heritageMellahs, synagogues and cemeteries in Fes, Marrakech and Essaouira; Bayt Dakira The Portuguese and European heritageEl Jadida's cistern, Essaouira's ramparts, Asilah, Tangier's international years The African and Saharan heritageThe Gnawa, the caravan routes, Sijilmasa, the Hassani south World Heritage SitesNine sites on the map The Al-Andalus tripDays, cities and practical answers

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