I stayed in Tetuan from april the 15th to april the 17th,2024,two nights. I had been to Marrakech's(4 days) ,Meknes(2 days)',Rabat's(2 days),Essaouira s (1 day) and Fez(3 days) medina a few years before so that my expectations were influenced by my experiences. 

Tetuan's medina turned out to be a quite authentic one,a friendly one,an accessible one. Usually a medina in Morroco means to be careful, to run with foresight, to watch out for motorcycles and other obstacles, to scan potential dangers in advance, to be on the lookout, to beware of money-thirsty sharks and rabble of all kinds. Tetuan's medina is hassle-free and no maze witout any exit. 

I stayed two nights in the Riad "Soul of Tetuan" which turned out to be an excellent choice: just a stone's throw away from Bab Tut,one of the entrance gates to the medina. Whats more the riad 's manager was an amazing person. As soon as I arrived he told me that he would show me the medina after I have eaten. He was born in the medina,grew up there,and still lives there.He knew almost every inhabitant of the medina,every alley,every corner and every building. What was supposed to be a short tour through the medina turned out to be a more than 2,5 private tour through every hidden corner of that world unesco heritage site. 

After that free private tour I strolled alone through its magical streets till around 21.00,having a mint tea there,then a coffee in another place.I guess I shook 50 hands that day and had countless short conversations with many different people. Since almost everyone speaks spanish -some fluently,some broken,and some knew just a couple of words- communication was quite easy.

The next day I was quite able to find my ways through the medina without looking at my off-line map .I visited all the different souhks there,the tanneries,the still remaining gates,the mellah (the former jewish area) ,had breakfast and several teas in different places,visited the khasbah(closed to construction works),walked around it,had a look at the nearby city cementary,shook again countless hands,had several conversations(always in spanish). I passed several mausoleums and mosques,was invited to have a hair-cut by an old german-speaking local(no way,but the tea and the conversation with him was very interesting).Tetuan's medina has no outstanding buildings or places,but the medina itself is bewitching. To observe craftsmen doing their work like in europe 50 years ago,watch people having chats every two seconds with friends or acquaintances...... .  Time is different in the medina.

I take my hat off to the city administration as they had installed explanation boards in front of every semi-interesting building with explanations in spanish and english. 

I also visited the El Ensanche,the spanish colonial part of Tetuan,and its iconic places like the cinema espanol,the institute cervantes,the christian church,the plaza Moulay El Mehdi,la plaza de Feddan(perfect place to have a tea there and watch the sunset).

Last but by far not the least I paid a visit to Tetuan's craft and art centre where young morrocans learn an ancient craft or art and where exhibitions take place. The building itself is certainly worth a visit.

When I arrived there they asked me if I belong to the spanish delegation.....speaking spanish....I said yes....the entrance was free then...just two minutes after me a huge group of around 60-70 people entered the building.I hastily visited every room of that building and then went out to the garden where  many chairs were already set up and local authorities such as the mayor and other officials appeared. Police were there too, I had no choice but to sit on one of the chairs.
There was short live music, several speakers, the mayor spoke a few words (in arabic with spanish interpretation)...everything dragged on for an hour...but more interesting than I thought. Tetuan was the capital of the spanish protectorate until 1956.The children,grandchildren and former spanish inhabitants of Tetuan as well as spaniards living in Tetuan are represented by that spanish association which organized that event. 

After all the speechs tea and coffee as well as morrocan sweets were served....I had the opportunity to shake the mayor's hands and a short conversation with some elderly spaniards with ties to Tetuan. All in all the relationship between the spanish people and the people from Tetuan seems to be excellent. Hardly anyone speaks english or french in Tetuan,and if they do,there are either from other regions of Morroco or lack the hospitality offered to spanish speaking persons.

I very much enjoyed my stay in Tetuan and would have liked to prolong my stay there for one or two days. Great city,great medina,great people!

Sorrowly, I had already booked my journey on the ferry from the spanish enclave Ceuta to Algeciras a few days before.

Tetuan's medina is still quite authentic,very safe,hassle-free,accessible,and most importantly: free of hordes of organized tourist groups,free of packs of embarrassing western tourists with short trousers or gangs of photo terrorists .People there have not lost their hospitality so far.Another plus is that the majority of foreign tourists is from Spain.

However,parts of the medina are quite dirty,and one can see quite a few abandoned buildings. I guess in a few years Tetuan's medina will be more like the medinas in other parts of morocco: full with tourists and money-thirsty local sharks.