Rif war: 100 years after

When I went to the city where all this started, my whole journey was organized: I was in touch with a man whose brother would help me find my way through the ups and downs of the Rif mountains. My second daughter came with me, excited to learn more about my hero.

We are talking about Morocco: nothing went as planned.

So I spoke to Ilyas, my hotel receptionist, asking him if he could be of any help. Interested in the subject and my project, he made a couple of calls, gave me the name of a specialist and arranged a whole day in the footsteps of Abdelkrim.

We are talking about Morocco: things always end up being realized.

This day was magic! Anouar, the driver, was passionate about the story of Abdelkrim. I guess it was quite common in the region. Instead of just taking us to the places I was interested in, he told me a lot of things that he had heard about Abdelkrim and other famous locals, as well as stories and legends.

We first stopped by a small farm on a hill, with a stunning view of the Mediterranean Sea. Anouar told us that it was the last known house of Abdelkrim. But we were greeted coldly by the owner who told us that all this was wrong, and that it led to some trouble with a so-called heiress. After reassuring him about our intentions, we left and on our way stopped an old passerby to ask him if he knew about Anoual battle and Abdelkrim army. He remembered his mum telling him that “blood flowed like a river”, and heard that more than 12’000 Spanish died that day. He also explained how the land was still suffering from the chemical residues of the bombs. But slowly his memory started to have trouble finding a clear path in labyrinth of his life. We eventually thanked him and let him continue on his way.

The second place we sent to was the old arsenal, but we could not see it from inside since we needed a special authorization and could only get a picture of it. Nevertheless, the site was surprisingly well restored, and located on a beautiful hill.

Saving the best for last.

We concluded our “100 years after” tour with the visit of the famous Ajdir headquarters, “ficina” from the Spanish oficina. Ajdir is Abdelkrim’s hometown. He spent the first part of his life there, and had his home and headquarters in what is today a pile of ruins. My heart balances between the sadness of seeing this place abandoned, and the impression of proximity to Abdelkrim through the walls that surrounded him for many years. Either way, the presence of debris and dirt does not affect the magic of the place, nor the breathtaking view that we have from it. For some reason this place has not been classified as a historical monument yet, but the importance given to the Anoual site shows that it is just a matter of time.