High in the Rif mountains of northern Morocco, the compact city of Chefchaouen splays across the shoulder of a rocky ridge.
Originally a base for the Berber tribes to attach the Portuguese at Ceuta, it became a refuge for Jews and Muslims expelled from Granada by Ferdinand and Isabella 1494.
Their imprint is seen today in the distinct Andalucian architecture - white-wash, tile roofs and balconies.
Chefchaouen or "Look at the Peaks" was part of the Spanish Protectorate from 1920 to 1956, so the second language (after Arabic or one of the Berber languages) is often Spanish.
The views from many of the homes is spectacular - mountain ridges above, the agrarian valley below and the tumbled jumble of white and blue washed building in between.
The treat is to wander through the Medina, or old city. A tangle of narrow, cobbled alleys lined by compact stone houses - all painted various shades of Mediterranean blue.
We arrived the same day as the Princess (wife of King Mohamed VI) on a tour of local development projects, so the town was freshly painted and scrubbed clean.
Each turn revealed a picturesque perspective, enlivened by residents' decorative touches. March is not peak tourist season, so we saw few other tourists.
In fact, there is an authenticity to Chefchaouen that belies its fame. A sense that we are experiencing it as it has always been.
Even though we did not meet the Princess on this visit (although we stepped over the red carpet laid out on the alleys for her to walk on) we did find Chefchaouen one of the most enchanting mountain towns we have ever visited.
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