TANGIER
Once an international city, Tangier has a special character that sets it apart from other Moroccan cities. It has drawn artists and writers, from Henri Matisse to Paul Bowles and writers of the Beat generation.
Tangier's port, dominated by the medina, is the main link between Africa and Europe. With a road now linking Tangier to Rabat and the construction of a port, the city continues to expand. The history of Tangier has been shaped by the sea and by its strategic location on the Straits of Gibraltar.
The Phoenicians established a port here in the 8th century, and it was later settled by the Carthaginians. In 146 BC, Tangier, known as Tingis, became a Roman town and the capital of Mauretania, to which it gave the name Tingitana, In 711, Arab and Berber forces gathered here to conquer Spain.
By the 14th century, the town was trading with Marseilles, Genoa, Venice and Barcelona. Tangier was captured by the Portuguese in 1471, by the Spanish (1578–1640) and then the English, who were expelled from the city by Moulay Ismail in 1684.
In the 19th century, Morocco was the object of dispute between European nations. When, in 1905, Kaiser Wilhelm II denounced the entente cordiale between France and Britain, the stage was set for Tangier's transformation into an international city.
This was sealed by the Treaty of Algeciras (1906), after which the diplomatic corps in Tangier took over Morocco's political, financial and fiscal affairs. When colonial rule was established in 1912, Spain took control of the northern part of the country. Tangier, however, remained under international administration.
This was the city's heyday; its image as a romantic and sensuously exotic place was made in literature and on the big screen.
After independence in 1956,Tangier was returned to Morocco. Mohammed VI now includes it in his royal visits. In March 2014, he launched a 130 million dirham project for an arts compound in downtown Tangier as part of the Tangier-Metropolis programme.
Exploring TANGIER
The best overview of the city is from the vantage point of the Colline du Charf or Colline de Bella-Vista, to the southeast. While the historic heart of Tangier is the medina, the soul of the city is the kasbah, which has a palace-museum, narrow streets, gateways and a seafront promenade.
In the evening, when it is wise not to linger in the medina, visitors who explore Ville Nouvelle (New Town), along Avenue Pasteur and Avenue Mohammed V, will come across the Spanish custom of the paseo (evening promenade). Alternatively, the cafés on Place de France and Place de Faro offer relaxing views of the port and the Straits of Gibraltar, and, in clear conditions, a sight of the lights along the coast of Spain.
The Kasbah
The kasbah was built on the site of the Roman settlement. Its present appearance dates from the Portuguese period and that of Moulay Ismail. With its quiet streets and friendly inhabitants, it has a special character, and its walls and gates command stunning views over the strait, the bay and the city.
Place de la Kasbah was once the méchouar where the sultan or his pashas held public audiences. It is also the location of the Dar El-Makhzen, the former palace that is now a museum (see below) and of the Kasbah Mosque, whose octagonal minaret is clad in coloured tiles.Its present form dates from the 19th century; the mendoub led Friday prayers here.
Also on the square is the Dar ech-Chera, the former tribunal, fronted by an arcade of three white marble columns. The large fig tree growing against the wall of an elegant house is supposed to be the place where Samuel Pepys wrote about Tangier in his diary in the 17th century.
Bab el-Assa (Gate of Bastinado) leads from the square to the medina. It was set at an angle so as to make it more difficult to attack. The gate gets its name from the bastinado (caning the soles of the feet) that was once the punishment of criminals.
In the lobby, between the two porches, stands a fountain decorated with mosaics, stuccowork and woodcarving. Gnaouas, distantly related to those of Marrakech and Essaouira, regularly perform music and dance here. In the evening, audiences can talk with them about their musical traditions and their repertoire.
From the lobby, a narrow passage allows sight of a small derb (alleyway) lined with very fine houses, while beyond the gate is a view over the city.
The Musée d'Art Contemporain, located in the former British Consulate building, which dates from 1890, houses collections of modern Moroccan art and temporary exhibitions featuring the works of foreign artists.
Archeologic Museum
Place de la Kasbah. The Museum of Archaeology is laid out in the Dar el Makhzen, a former sultans' palace built in the 17th century by Ahmed ben Ali, whose father Ali ben Abdellah al Hamani Errifi liberated Tangier from the British settlers in 1664.
The palace was remodelled and enlarged several times in the 17th and 19th centuries. Bit el-Mal, the treasury - a separate room with a magnificent painted cedar ceiling - contains large 18th-century coffers with a complex system of locks. A gallery leads to the palace courtyard paved with zellij tilework and surrounded by a gallery supported by white marble columns with Corinthian capitals.
The seven exhibition rooms opening onto the patio display artifacts evoking the material history of Tangier from prehistoric times to the 19th century. These include sets of bone and stone tools, ceramics, terracotta figurines and Phoenician silver jewellery.
The Voyage of Venus, a Roman mosaic from Volubilis, is displayed in the museum's courtyard. Reproductions of several famous bronzes from the Musée Archéologique in Rabat are also on display.
One room is devoted to Morocco's major archaeological sites. On the upper floor, the prehistory and history of Tangier and its environs, from the Neolithic period to its occupation by foreign powers, are presented through displays of grave goods, pottery and coins. Adjacent to the palace is the Andalusian garden.
Ramparts
Ramparts Place de la Kasbah. Accessible via Bab el-Bahar On the side of the square facing the sea, opposite Bab el-Assa, stands Bab el-Bahar (Gate of the Sea), which was built in the walls in 1920. From the terrace there is a breathtaking view of the port, the straits and, in clea: conditions, the Spanish coast.
The walkway, which starts on the left, follows the outside of the ramparts and leads to the impressive Borj en Naam, a fort. Continuing along the seafront and through residential districts, the route leads to Hafa.
Petit Socco
Petit Socco Accessible via Rue Es-Siaghine or Rue Ima el-Kbir. Known today as the Souk Dakhli, the Petit Socco probably corresponds to the area on which the forum of Roman Tingis once stood.
It was a country souk, where people would come to buy food, and with the arrival of the Europeans at the end of the 19th century it became the pulsing heart of the medina.
This was where business was done; diplomats, bankers, whose offices were located around the square or in the close vicinity, could be seen in the cafés, hotels, casinos and cabarets of the Petit Socco.
The Fuentes, a café-restaurant and hotel, now gives but a faint impression of these halcyon days. From the 1950s, the hub of city life shifted to Ville Nouvelle, leaving the Petit Socco to a few writers, and to idlers, smokers of kif and shady trafickers.
Grand Mosque
The Grand Mosque, built on the site of a Portuguese cathedral, probably also overlies a former Roman temple dedicated to Hercules. Dating from the reign of Moulay Ismail, it was enlarged in 1815 by Moulay Sliman.
Mohammed Vled Friday prayer?s here on 11 April 1947, during a visit to Tangier, when he also made a historic speech in the Mendoubia grounds. Opposite the mosque, the state primary school (established by nationalists during the French Protectorate) is a former Merinid medersa that was remodelled in the 18th century.
Nearby, the Borj el-Hadjoui commands a view of the port and a pair of Armstrong cannons, each weighing 20 tonnes. They were purchased from the British in Gibraltar, but were never used.
From the borj, Rue Dar el-Baroud leads to the Hôtel Continental, located opposite the port and one of Tangier's oldest hotels. The building's architectural style, its Andalusian-style lounges and its open terraces give this establishment great appeal.
Its patrons have included writers and painters - among them Edgar Degas - and film producers No. 51, was built by the Spanish government, work beginning in 1880. It was used by the whole city's Christian community, as well as by foreign diplomats.
It is now used for social activities. Further up the street, on the left, is Rue Touahine, which is lined with jewellers' shops and which leads to the Fondation Lorin, an arts centre in a disused synagogue.
Artist & Writers
Artists and Writers in Tangier At the beginning of the 20th century, many writers from Europe and the United States came to Tangier, most of them settling here more or less permanently.
Drawn not only by the climate, they also came in search of stimulation and spiritual wellbeing, and in particular sought the atmosphere, freedom and sense of adventure that the city seemed to project. Tangier's exotic reputation as a den of traffickers and spies, and of drugs, sex and dissipation was also a powerful draw.
Painters
The light, architecture and inhabitants of Tangier have inspired many European and American painters. Discovered by Eugène Delacroix at the end of the 19th century, the city later became the subject of paintings by Georges Clairin, Jacques Majorelle, James Wilson Morrice, Kees Van Dongen, Claudio Bravo and the Expressionist painter Henri Matisse.
Paul Bowles
who came to Tangier for the first time in 1931 on the advice of Gertrude Stein, settled there permanently in 1947. He died in 1999.
Eugène Delacroix
(1798-1863) discovered Morocco in 1832. The experience of visiting the country marked a turning point in his career. Orientalism was then to inspire his work for the rest of his life.
Writers
In the wake of Paul Bowles came writers and musicians of the Beat, Rock and Hippie generations. Tennessee Williams arrived in 1949, followed by Truman Capote, who came to Tangier "to escape from himself" William Burroughs lived here for longer than all other foreign writers, finding Tangier a city where "throbbed the heartbeat of the world.
Paul Morand
a diplomat and writer, and also a great traveller, wrote Hécate et ses chiens in Tangier in 1955. A unique atmosphere pervades this short novel on the subject of couples "In Africa, the first thing you learn is to live life as it comes.
Mohammed Choukri
born in the Rif in 1935, was a friend of Jean Genet and Tennessee Williams. Discovered by Paul Bowles, he came to fame in the 1980s wit h For Bread Alone.
Henri Matisse
(1869–1954) was one of the greatest Fauvist painters. His Odalisque à la Culotte Grise is typical of his work.
Grand Socco
Grand Socco (Place du 9 Avril 1947) The link between the medina and Ville Nouvelle, Place du Grand Socco was renamed Place du 9 Avril 1947 in memory of the speech that Mohammed V made in support of independence.
The square comes to life in the evenings, when vendors spread out their wares on the ground - extensive displays of a huge variety of second-hand goods.
A colourful market, where peasant women in striped foutas and wide-brimmed straw hats come to sell fruit and fowl, takes place above the square, near the Anglican Church of St Andrew, at the far end of Rue d'Angleterre.
The minaret of the Mosque of Sidi Bou Abib (1917), decorated with polychrome tiles, overlooks the square from the southwest. Near Bab Fahs, a double gateway leading into the medina, are the grounds of the Mendoubia. This was the residence of the mendoub when Tangier was under international administration (1923-56).
Anglican Church
Anglican Church of St Andrew Rue d'Angleterre. Open 9:30am12:30pm & 2:30-6pm. + 11am Sun. Built on land that Moulay Hassan donated to fulfil the needs of an increasingly large British population in Tangier the church of St Andrew was completed in 1894.
The interior is a curious mixture of styles, in which the Moorish style predominates. The lobed arch at the entrance to the choir, and the ceiling above the altar, which is decorated with a quotation from the Gospel in Arabic, are of particular interest.
The belltower, in the shape of a minaret, overlooks the cemetery. Among those buried here are Walter Harris, a journalist and correspondent for The Times, and Sir Harry McLean, a military adviser to the sultans.
A plaque at the west end of the church commemorates Emily Kean: she came to Tangier in the 19th century, married the Cherif of Ouezzane and devoted her life to the welfare of the people of northern Morocco.
Fondouk Chejra
The buzzing atmosphere in Fondouk Chejra, known as the Poor People's Souk or Weavers' Souk, is that of an Oriental bazaar. Above the shops on the ground floor, the rooms that were once used by travellers and passing tradesmen have been converted into weavers' workshops, where the white and red fabric that is typical of the Rif is produced. The original layout of the former fondouk, or caravanserai, is difficult to make out, the central courtyard having been much altered.
The Mendoub
The Mendoub was the sultan's representative during the international administration of Tangier. While his main residence was the Mendoubia, near the Grand Socco, this palace, built in 1929, was used mostly for receptions. It was acquired in 1970 by Malcolm Forbes (1919–90), the American multimillionaire who founded Fortune magazine.
It became a luxury residence where Forbes threw lavish parties and where such international stars as Elizabeth Taylor were guests. The house also contained a display of Forbes' 120,000 piece collection of toy soldiers. The Palace is now stateowned and will be used as a residence for important visitors from abroad.
Marshan Quarter
Located west of the kasbah, the Quartier du Marshan was developed from the late 19th to the early 20th century.
Being removed from the bustle of the medina and of Ville Nouvelle, it was an attractive residential location, and high officals and the shorfa of Ouezzane built their palaces and grand villas here in the late 19th century.
The Italian Consulate (Rue Assad Ibn Farrat), rebuilt in 1916 and with walls covered in zellij tilework, housed Garibaldi in 1849-50. The former palace of the sultan Moulay Hafid, in Moorish style, became the Palais des Institutions Italiennes in 1926.
On the edge of the strait, the Marshan ends at the limits of Hafa, a poorer residential district with a great deal of local colour, up on the sea cliff.
Tanger Bay
Bay of Tangier Between the port and Cap Malabata, the bay forms a beach-lined semicircle. Avenue d'Espagne, which runs along the bay, is lined with hotels, from small guesthouses to large modern establishments.
Dotted with the blues, reds and whites of the boats and the ochre, green and orange of the nets, the small fishing harbour is a colourful sight, and the freshly caught fish that is offered makes a delicious meal.
It was on Avenue d'Espagne that Bernardo Bertolucci shot scenes for his 1990 film The Sheltering Sky. Many literary works, by William Burroughs and others, took shape in the small guesthouses here. The French philosopher Michel Foucault would stay at the Hôtel Cecil, while Samuel Beckett preferred the Solazur.
American Legation
The American Legation consists of a suite of rooms that originally formed part of the residence that Moulay Sliman presented to the United States in 1821, and which served as the US Consulate for the next 140 years. Another suite, on several floors looking out onto a garden, was presented by a Jewish family: the doors, windows and ceilings were decorated by craftsmen from Fès.
The rooms contain engre vings of Gibraltar and Tang old maps, and paintings (by Brayer, Mohammed be Ali Rbati, James McBey, ed Claudio Bravo and others); which were given to the legation by Margarite McBey, wife of James McBey and a resident of Tangier. Through photographs, early editions and recordings,
a room devoted to Paul Bowles gives an overview of the writer's life and work during the years that he lived in Tangier.
A reference library is also available for the use of scholars and specialists on north afric.
Exploring MEDITERRANEAN COAST
Stretching from the land of the Jebala in the west to Morocco's eastern frontier, the Rif presents a great variety of landscapes.
Here are high, steep valleys where almond trees blossom and oleanders flower, mountain roads that command wild and magnificent vistas forests of cedar, fir and oak, and villages and isolated houses with pitched tin roofs.
Between Ceuta and Cabo Negro, the coast is punctuated by sweeping beaches of golden sand and from Wadi Laou to Al-Hoceima and Saidia, by more secluded bays beneath rocky cliffs.
T3he medinas of Tetouan and Chefchaouen are among the most picturesque in Morocco.
Cap Spartel
From Tangier, the road leading to Cap Spartel runs through La Montagne, the city's western suburb, which is bathed in the perfume of eucalyptus and mimosa.
Long walls surround the residences of Moroccan, Kuwaiti and Saudi kings and princes and the luxury villas dating from the golden age of Tangier's international period.
Beyond stretch forests of holm-oak, cork oak, umbrella pine, mastic-tree, broom and heather, which all flourish here, watered by the highest rainfall in Morocco At the cape, the most northwesterly point of Africa, is the promontory known in antiquity as Cape Ampelusium or Cape of the Vines, and a lighthouse dating from 1865.
From beneath the lighthouse, there is a breathtaking view of the ocean where the Mediterranean and Atlantic meet, and on clear days you can see the strait and coast of Spain from Cape Trafalgar to the Rock of Gibraltar.
Hercules cave
Grottes d'Hercule Road Map D1.5 km (3 miles) southwest of Cap Spartel. At the place known as Achakar, the sea has carved impressive caves out of the cliff. The people who, from prehistoric times, came to these caves knapped stones here and quarried millstones for use in oil presses.
The opening to the caves, facing onto the sea, is a cleft shaped like a reversed map of Africa According to legend, Hercules slept here before performing one of his 12 labours - picking the golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides.
The location of the legendary garden belonging to these nymphs of darkness and guarded by the dragon with 100 heads is said to be further south, near Lixus. The best time to visit the caves is in the late afternoon, after which the light of the setting sun can be enjoyed from the cafés nearby.
Further south, beneath the level of the caves, are the Ruins of Cotta (1st century BC to 3rd century AD).
With vats for salting fish, making garum and producing purple dye, this was one of the largest industriel centres of the punic-Mauritanian period.
Beaches Around Tangier
The Bay of Tangier, a grand crescent that is sometimes likened to the Baie des Anges in Nice or to Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro, stretches for almost 4 km (2.5 miles) from the edge of the port round to the residential districts and resort areas and to the first spurs of land that mark its eastern extremity. The proximity of the city and the rivers that flow into it unfortunately make this the most polluted beach in Morocco. For swimming and sunbathing, it is better to make for the beaches between Cap Spartel and the Grottes d'Hercule and beyond, or for the coves of Cap Malabata, or, further east, the beaches at Sidi Khankroucht and Ksar es-Seghir.
Between Tangier
And Cap Spartel, small coves are reachable on foot from the Perdicaris Belvedere. The walk down passes through mimosa and woods of umbrella pine.
Between Cap Spartel
And the Grottes d'Hercule are many attractive little bays separated by rocky outcrops.
The beach at Mrissa
Beneath Cap Malabata, has fine, soft sand and is well sheltered by stands of pine.
Wadi Aliane
Is an attractive sandy beach with a small resort complex that is still in the process of being built.
The double beach
At Sidi Khankroucht, at Km 18, beneath shaded hills, is clean and pleasant. Chez Hassan is a small, friendly restaurant here.
Ksar es-Seghir
At Ksar es-Seghir, 33 km (20 miles) along a road with beautiful scenery, a splendid beach stretches out in front of woods and groves from which emerge the ruins of Almohad, Merinid and Portuguese buildings.
Dome
The cedar-panelled interior of the dome over the prayer hall glistens with carved and painted decoration.
Plage des Amiraux
Has developed in front of the elegant houses of a small village.