RIFCOM Adventures 010324: Day 1 - Belyounech y Jabel Musa

Our 4 Day Adventure with the Rifcom team an organisation run by volunteers
who are committed to helping the impoverished rural communities of the Rif mountains in the North of Morocco. The adventure starts with a ferry from Algeciras to Ceuta across the straits of Gibraltar.

We are then transported to the town of
Belyounech a popular starting point for the hike to Jebel Musa (Moses Mount).

The start of the trail involves a gentle climb with beautiful views across the straits of Gibraltar and beyond.
The last 300 metres to the summit is a steeper climb but easily doable with care.
The summit is well worth the effort with stunning views to be had in all directions.

A great hike we’ll worth the effort.

Belyounech is a town and rural commune in the Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma region of Morocco. The city has many alternate transliterations, including Beliunech and Bel Younech. Belyounech borders the community of Benzú in the Spanish autonomous city of Ceuta, and is located 7 kilometres from the city of Ceuta.

Fishing
The town has a strong fishing heritage, as it is situated on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
The first women's fishing cooperative in Morocco is from Belyounech.
There are also beaches available for recreation along the waters in Belyounech.

Jebel Musa (Arabic: جبل موسى, Jabal Mūsā; Berber languages: Adrar n Musa; meaning "Mount Moses") is a mountain in the northernmost part of Morocco, on the African side of the Strait of Gibraltar. It is part of the Rif mountain chain. The mountain is generally identified as the southern Pillar of Hercules, Mons Abila (Mount Abila or Abyla).

Jebel Musa, named, according to the 14th-century Berber Muslim geographer Ibn Battuta, in honour of Musa bin Nusayr, to whom the conqueror of Andalusia Tariq ibn Ziyad owed fealty,was known to the ancient Greeks and Phoenicians as Mount Abyla and to the Romans as Columna.Together with the Rock of Gibraltar to the north, it is generally identified as one of the Pillars of Hercules (this title is also claimed for Monte Hacho in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, to the east of Jebel Musa).

The name 'pillars of Hercules' derives from one of the twelve labours assigned by the Greek hero Heracles. Perseus had defeated the Titan Atlas by showing him the head of the Gorgon. Atlas was petrified; his hair became a forest and his shoulders became cliffs. Heracles was then directed to get the Cattle of Geryon and deliver them to Eurystheus. Heracles' way was blocked by the mountain that Perseus had created; to clear a way, he used his mace to split the mountain in half, one part becoming the Rock of Gibraltar and the other becoming a mountain in Morocco. According to the myth, this split in the mountain created a sea link between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. This link was the Strait of Gibraltar.

Jebel Musa is 842 metres (2,762 ft) high. To the north, across the Strait of Gibraltar, lie Spain and the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. To the east is Ceuta, a Spanish exclave, and to the west and south is Morocco. By road, the mountain is about 22 kilometres (14 mi) west of Ceuta and about 72 kilometres (45 mi) east of Tangier.

Jebel Musa is opposite the Rock of Gibraltar at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. It is an important landmark in the region of Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima on the north coast of Morocco.The coastlines around the mountain show evidence of having had varying sea levels through the ages. These highstands are at 120–130 metres; 80 to 90 metres; 40 to 60 metres and from 0 to 25 metres above the present sea level.

In Ceuta, around the town of Benzú, the mountain is known as The Dead Woman (Spanish: la Mujer Muerta), because from that direction it resembles a woman on her back.