Tetouan's Mediterranian Coast
M’hammad Benaboud
Tetuan’s beaches are among the most beautiful in the entire Mediterranean World. The coast offers a unique variety of beaches, tourist complexes, luxury hotels, traditional fishing villages and popular summer coastal towns. People practice different sports ranging from simple sports like fishing to more sophisticated sports like jet sky, volleyball, tennis or golf. The weather and the topography contribute to make this coast so attractive. The east winds coming from the Mediterrean Sea bring clouds which are trapped by the Rif Mountains stretching along Tetuan’s hundreds of kilometer long coast, producing rain, or a mild humid climate. The west winds are dry. The cycle of humid east winds is followed by that of the dry west winds throughout the year. Only the mild north winds occasionally interrupt this cycle. Another advantage of Tetuan’s Mediterranean coast is its closeness to the city. Access to different parts of the coast is rapid either because some of the most beautivul beaches are close to the city, or because fast access to others is made available by the new communication network.
Several summer towns attract hundreds of thousands of visiters every summer throughout July and August. Martil is the closest coastal town to Tetuan, lying only ten kilometers eastwards. Other towns of this type are Mdiq, fourteen kilometers on the road to Sebta. Fnideq is thirty five kilometers from Tetuan in the same direction. Mdiq and Fnideq attract visitors as much for their beaches as for their black markets, being close to the intensive smuggling activities with Sebta.
Access to these areas has been faciliated by the new highways linking Tetuan to the national highway to Rabat. Tourists from Europe have an easy access to the coast via Sebta which is only 45 minutes away from Algeciras across the Straits of Gibraltar.
Luxurious coastal hotels and summer resorts are numerous on the road to Sebta, including Restinga, Marina Smir, Kabila or Al-Amin. They are only between twenty and twenty five kilometers from Tetuan, but by highway, it only takes a twenty minute drive to reach them. The clear water, the golden sand and the mountainaous background make these beaches extremely attractive. They are also open to the general public.
The temperature in this area ranges between 27C and 35C degrees during the months of July and August. It is mostly sunny, thus making it extremely attractive.
The coast which stretches from Tetuan in the opposite direction is completely different, but equally attractive. A large part of this coast consists of rocky beaches with some sandy beaches in between such as Azla with its beautiful bay, Tamarnut, Samsa, Wad Law or Jabha. While Azla and Tamarnut are not too far from Tetouan, Wad Law is 70 kilometers along the rough and narrow maountainous winding road across the coast.
These areas constitute Morocco’s best summer resorts.. The new highway across the Rif, from Tetouan to Alhoceima and from Alhoceima to Saidia via Nador which is near completion, will undoubtedly change the face of the coast of Northern Morocco. The new administrative territorial division of Northern Morocco will also contribute to change Tetouan’s place in the region. However, its beaches will always be among Morocco’s best in the Mediterranean coast.
It is not a coincidence that H.M. King Mohamad V of Morocco has chosen to spend his summer vacations near Mdiq, and made Tetuan and Tangier the kingdom’s summer capital since his access to the thrown in the beginning of the twenty first century. The economic investment in this area will also contribute to increase the popularity of this coast. This area attracts a variety of visitors ranging from inhabitants of the warmer cities of central Morocco to Moroccan workers in Europe who join their relatives during the summer vacation. Foreign tourists are less numerous, but the potential for attracting them in the medium future is tremendous. For numerous reasons, Tetouan’s coast and beaches will continue to attract visitors for many years to come.