The Rif or Riff, also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. It is bordered on the north by the Mediterranean Sea and Spain and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the homeland of the Rifians and the Jebala people. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterranean to the north, and by the Ouergha River to the south. The Rif mountains are separated into the eastern Rif mountains and western Rif mountains.
A view of the Rif mountains around Chefchaouen
Rif mountains in the province of Ashawen
Moroccan Mediterranean coast – aerial view west from Bades over El Jebha to Tétouan with Rif mountains, Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima (2014)
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south. Morocco also claims the Spanish exclaves of Ceuta, Melilla and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, and several small Spanish-controlled islands off its coast. It has a population of roughly 37 million, the official and predominant religion is Islam, and the official languages are Arabic and Berber; French and the Moroccan dialect of Arabic are also widely spoken. Moroccan identity and culture is a mix of Arab, Berber, African and European cultures. Its capital is Rabat, while its largest city is Casablanca.
Ptolemy of Mauretania was the last to rule the Kingdom of Mauretania prior to Roman conquest.
Roman ruins of Volubilis.
Idrisid coin in Fes, 840
al-Qarawiyyin, founded in Fes in the 9th century, was a major spiritual, literary, and intellectual centre.