Wikipedia. Tetouan (Arabic: تطوان, Spanish: Tetuán, French: Tétouan) is a city in northern Morocco. Tetouan is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea) a few miles south of the Strait of Gibraltar, and about 40 mi (60 km) E.S.E. of Tangier. In 2004 the city had 320,539 inhabitants. Arabic is the official language but everyday dialogue is in the city's own dialect/ Spanish and French is widespread for businessmen and intellegentsia. A small Christian minority lives in the city.
Tétouan had an important Sephardic Jewish community, which immigrated from Spain after the Reconquista and the Spanish Inquisition and spoke a form of Judaeo-Spanish known asHaketia . Some emigrated later to Oran (in Algeria), to South America and much later to Israel, Spain, France and Canada. Following the Arab expulsions of Jews after 1948,very few Jews remain in Tétouan.
CEMETERY:
- The Jewish cemetery of Tetouan, which dates back to more than five hundred years old, is spread over fifteen acres making it the largest in Morocco.. Of approximately ten thousand graves, only five hundred have inscriptions. Most gravestones according to a curious local custom, identification was only for unmarried males or married but childless. The cemetery is divided into two parts: the little girl or old or mearah Castilla cemetery and big mearah or new cemetery. The severe looking modern cemetery is arranged in terraces. In each platform holds aligned, family sarcophagi generally solid marble blocks with inscriptions on the upper side. Some of them were brought from quarries in Spain and Italy and weigh more than five tons. The inscriptions are in Hebrew, but many tombstones have name and date in Castilian, sometimes accompanied by naif verses. On one side of the cemetery are a number of somewhat separated from the others. These people were not model Orthodox Jews or went astray. Some are women, Rachel, Esther, Leah ..., "which left the breadwinner father's house." Cemetery detailed description and photos. [Apr -214]
- The old cemetery portion is called Castilla mainly because that area emigrants were expelled in 1492. The lower part is the oldest and has a series of variously oriented stones, carved with a circular head and a long stem with two circles and two side edges along. . the sarcophagi. Holy books or pages are conserved therein Some rabbis are buried in the cemetery: R. Isaac Bengualid, R. Haim Bibas, R. Jusef Bibas, R. Judah Jalfón, those of Abudarhan, Nahon, Marrache, Almosnino, Menahem, Benmalcá, Coriat Levy or families. [Source with photos and videos. Mar 2014]