Tetouan’s importance as a Moroccan township dates from the 8th century when the city became a main point of passage for the Arabs between Morocco and Andalusia. Later, this small white medina on the slopes of the Jbel Dersa became a historic refuge for the many Jews and Muslims forced to depart their beloved Granada.

From the 15th to the 18th centuries, they arrived carrying with them all the riches of high-Andalusian culture – traditions in art, music, architecture, craftsmanship, and the culinary arts. The town built up, the former Andalusians settled in to prosperous trade with Europe.

Tetouan's old quarters remain a maze of small plazas, souks, and narrow irregular passages lined with tiled buildings, square houses, ornate iron balconies, and crafted wooden doors. The uniform and well-preserved architectural legacies of Tetouan's medina have put it on the map of UNESCO’s world heritage list.