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Tangier

5 Editorial 6 An unusual 8 A walk around town 10 Atlantic or Mediterranean? 12 An artists’ haven 16 In the footsteps of the great travellers 18 The experience 20 Tangier in a new light 22 Along the Atlantic coastline 24 The Mediterranean and the foothills of the 26 Information and useful addresses 4

Tangier’s 5

Editorial

Tangier, city of inspiration

Just a few kilometres from , set between mountain and sea, a miniature paradise awaits the traveller, a shimmering white city framed by the brilliant blue of the skies above, the deep blue of the , and the blue- green of the Mediterranean. At the crossroads of seas and continents, where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic and meets , stands the city of Tangier, its face turned resolutely towards the sea. There is something altogether unique about the town, something impalpable, indefinable – a sense of freedom that hangs in the air like the scent of orange blossom.

Henri Matisse called Tangier “the painter’s paradise”, and when Eugène Delacroix first experienced the city, he exclaimed, “I’ve just been looking round the town, and at the moment feel like a man caught up in a dream, seeing things he is afraid will finally escape him”. referred to The Palais des Hôtes it as a “dream city”, and no visit will deny that it only takes a few hours’ acquaintance with the place to fall helplessly under its spell.

The city has worked its magic on so many over the centuries, drawing artists and intellectuals, conquerors and beatniks, millionaires and eccentrics. This is the city that invented globalisation! Tangier is above all an atmosphere, and when you leave it, you have to wonder if it was all just a dream.

Tangier bay 6

An unusual history

There are signs of an ancient Phoenician as Tangier was doing a good deal of trade settlement in the area – a few scant ruins, with such major centres as Marseilles, including a pair of necropolises, still Genoa, Venice and Barcelona. The city remain – but the city itself was founded fell into Portuguese hands in 1471, only by the Carthaginians in the 4th century to be acquired by the English in 1661 BC, as the trading-post of . In 146 as part of the at the marriage of BC, following the fall of , the Charles II with . town, now known as , became The Alaouite won back Tangier part of the Kingdom of , in 1684 during the reign of Moulay which was allied to Rome and ruled by Ismaël. Juba II. Under Emperor , the kingdom became a Roman colony, In the 19th century, European nations Tingitan Mauritania, with Tingis as its began sending increasing numbers of capital. When the arrived in 706 trading and diplomatic missions to AD, the city was taken by their general, Tangier, and in 1906 the Algeceras Omeyyade Moussa Ibn Noussair, and it Conference provided for the city to was from Tingis that Tarik Ibn Ziad’s be accorded special status. In 1925 it army set off to conquer Spain in 711. became an international zone under the sovereignty of the of . In the centuries that followed, Tangier The period during which it enjoyed A street in the kasbah became a coveted prize in the power international status was Tangier’s golden struggles between the Idrissids and age – the era of its great cultural and Umayyads of Spain, and then between economic influence, and during which the Almoravids, Almohads and Merinids it gained the “romantic” reputation – a prize that also had its eye on, exploited by filmmakers and novelists.

A sketch of Tingi, American Legation Museum 7

Looking out over Tangier’s medina

It was also in Tangier, in the Mendoubia A new wind is blowing here, though, Park, that Mohammed V delivered with the recently opened Tangier-Med his 1947 speech declaring Moroccan port linking the Kingdom’s motorways Independence. Tangier was to keep its with the seaway of the Straits – a second special status until 1960. Today, the city golden age is about to begin! still has its cosmopolitan side, with a wide variety of outside influences contributing to its cultural diversity and unique personality.

The Kasbah’s Museum of Archaeology 8

A walk around town

The (Spanish for souk) at giant cannons. Down below, the fishing the entrance to the medina is undoubtedly port is the scene of non-stop activity, the busiest part of the city. Its square is orchestrated by the cries of the seagulls bordered by the former residence of the wheeling above. Mendoub (the Sultan’s representative) and its park. The Mendoubia Park is The Kasbah is Tangier’s heart and splendidly laid out, dominated by a giant soul, an imposing fortress with walls banyan tree, and graced with a multitude overlooking the medina and the whole of venerable dragon trees. city. You get to it from the Grand Socco via rue d’Italie and uphill along rue de The Rue des Siaghines (“jewellers’ la Kasbah. This is a district of venerable street”) leads to the , a palaces, accommodating some truly picturesque little square surrounded by superb residences. In Place de la Kasbah, and cafes that served as second the Sultan’s palace, “Dar el Mekhzen”, homes to the city’s celebrities – Paul houses a museum of Moroccan arts, Bowles, , Paul Morand, while the palace next door, Dar Chorfa, Pasolini, and Camille Saint-Saëns is home to a museum of antiquities and Entrance to the medina among them. Leaving the Petit Socco, archaeology. Stop for a coffee at the Café rue de la Marine takes you to Bab el du Détroit, which takes its name from Bahr (“the door to the sea”), guarded the magnificent views of the Straits to be by a pair of borjs (fortified towers), one taken from its terrace. of which, Borj el Mosra, is decked with

Plaza de Toros 9

Arabo-Andalusian architecture

Boulevard Pasteur is the new ships navigating the Straits – earning town’s main thoroughfare, and in the square its nickname of “Sour Al the holiday season can be found Maâgazine”, which roughly translates teeming with locals and visitors alike, as “wall of indolence”. From there, taking a leisurely stroll in the sultry rue Anoual takes you down to the evening air. It leads to Place Faro, astonishing Art Deco edifice of the a vast terrace protected by antique . The theatre cannons and affording magnificent first opened its doors in 1913, and was panoramic views of the port, the bay, the largest of its day in , and the distant Spanish coastline. boasting 1400 seats and equipped Locals spend hours on end there, with cutting-edge stage machinery. Its contemplating the sea glittering in the boards have been walked by countless sunlight and the graceful ballet of the great performers, Lola Flores for one.

The Cervantes Theatre 10

Atlantic or Mediterranean?

Whatever you do, don’t miss out on a over to cruise-ship and yachting visit to Café Hafa for a refreshing glass activities, following transfer of its of mint tea. The cafe enjoys a unique passenger and merchant traffic to the location, clinging to the cliffside in the new Tangier-Med port (45 km west shade of gardens and terraces and with of Tangier). Four focuses of activity panoramic views of the Mediterranean are on the drawing board: cruise on the right, the Atlantic on the ships, fishing, the southern Spain/ left, and the Andalusian coastline tour of Morocco , and yachting and across the Straits. It first opened its accompanying events. Yachting doors in 1920, and has since been activities are managed by the Tangier frequented by such famous names as Royal Yacht Club. Paul Bowles, and . Legend has it that Between two seas the Beatles, Bob Marley and Sean Twin capes symbolise entry into the Connery have all savoured a glass or city of Tangier: on the two of mint tea there, along with the Atlantic side and Cape Malabata on the breath-taking view. Mediterranean. Cape Malabata, facing east towards the rising sun, is planted Tangier Port with pines and low trees and affords a Strategically located between the 180° view over the Straits of Atlantic and the Mediterranean, – visit it in the morning, when the light

Café Hafa Tangier is the Kingdom’s main is at its best. A little further on, you Mediterranean commercial port, its come to that decidedly strange edifice, busiest passenger port, and is also Malabata castle, which, despite its equipped with a yachting harbour. medieval-style architecture, was actually The many passenger shuttles between built in the early 20th century. Europe and Morocco, along with great Cape Spartel is topped by a lighthouse bulk carriers, trawlers, small fishing put up in 1965, and is the perfect spot boats, and sailing yachts, all make use from which to experience the sun setting of the same channel of entry. over the ocean. On the way there, it’s A two-stage project is in the pipeline well worth taking the time to stop off at for turning Tangier’s port entirely the Perdicaris belvedere.

Malabata Castle 11

Cap Spartel

The of : Light from the Atlantic Located on the Cape Spartel massif off the Atlantic coast, the are natural limestone formations, their damp and sombre interiors lit by a single passageway giving on to the ocean, the entrance to which bears an extraordinary resemblance to an outline map of the African continent. The caves are Tangier’s most popular tourist attraction, a truly out-of-the ordinary experience on account of their beauty, major archaeological interest, and mythological significance. According to the Ancient Greeks, it was here that Hercules came to rest after completing his 12 labours. The legend states that it was the demigod himself who created the Straits of Gibraltar, parting the mountains and bringing Jbel Tarik (Gibraltar) into being on one side and Jbel Moussa on the other. Myth is only a step away from reality... 12

An artists’ haven

A tour of the arts The streets of Tangier are teeming into legend – the El Minzah , with artistic and literary memories. the Continental Hotel, Café de Paris Countless painters, novelists, and Café Fuentès, to name but a playwrights, poets, photographers, few! But the city does not simply actors, filmmakers and couturiers live on its past. While the ghosts of from every nation under the sun have Eugène Delacroix, , stayed here a while or made their Oscar Wilde, William Burroughs home here, inspired and bewitched and Tennessee Williams may still by the city’s magic. All of them walk its street, it continues to attract have left their imprint, and many and inspire creators from all corners Tangier institutions have entered of the world. The bell tower of Tan- gier’s church

Tangier, city of inspiration 13

“Jewish Wedding” by Eugène Delacroix

City of painters In speaking of Tangier, we cannot, of whose tomb overlooking the Straits course, omit to mention the French bears the inscription, “He loved painter Eugène Delacroix, who stayed Morocco”. there and said of the city, “There is matter for paintings to be found at every A city that has caused much street corner”. Today, an art gallery ink to flow bearing his name, located in rue de la The legendary bookshop “Librairie Liberté, exhibits works by Moroccan and des Colonnes” was where the city’s foreign painters. Following Delacroix’s intellectuals – such great literary first encounter with Tangier, the names as Jean Genet, Paul Bowles, city’s colours and intense light became William Burroughs and Tennessee something of an obsession among his Williams – came to hone their craft. fellow painters, who came in droves to Some never left Tangier. If you’re set up their easels there, enthralled by passing through, take a look inside the works he brought back from his visit and browse through the works of – Matisse, for one, Torres, and Mcbey, some of the writers who fell under the who could not tear himself away, and city’s irresistible spell. Tangier through Matisse’s eyes 14

Tangier bay 15 16

In the footsteps of the great travellers

The American Legation in the Fuente Nueva district. The In 1777, Morocco became the first celebrated traveller, pilgrim, explorer country to officially recognise the and ambassador, an indefatigable of America as an scholar open to the world at large, independent nation. In 1821, in order was born in Tangier in 1304, and to seal this new found friendship, set off to make the pilgrimage to the Sultan, Moulay Slimane, Mecca as an inexperienced young gifted the legation to the American man of 22. The journey was to mark diplomatic mission, and it remains the beginning of one of the most the only monument belonging to the extraordinary adventures of all time! United States outside their national territory. The vast residence was Ibn Battouta is often compared to built in the 18th century, restored in the somewhat better known Marco 1920, and turned into a museum in Polo. They were, however, men 1956, conserving a varied collection of very different character. While of works tracing Tangier’s history Marco Polo and his brothers set from the 17th to the 20th century. out to explore unknown lands for commercial reasons, Ibn Battouta Ibn Battouta travelled in search of knowledge – Ibn Battouta While in Tangier, don’t forget which didn’t stop him from covering to pay a visit to the grave of the a considerably greater distance than city’s most emblematic son. Ibn his illustrious predecessor!. Battouta’s tomb is to be found high up in the medina, in a little street

American Legation 17

Inside the museum 18

The Tangier experience

The city’s many hotels; restaurants a musical past littered with rock and pianos bars provide a wide variety greats from the beat generation to of nightlife in a range of relaxing and the Rolling Stones – not forgetting elegant settings. Randy Weston, the illustrious jazz master who continues to visit and From jazz to theatre via the draw inspiration from the city. cinema Depuis 2000, le festival de jazz Since Mediterranean Nights the year 2000, Tangier’s annual jazz The Mediterranean Nights Festival festival, Tanjazz, has been bringing is held in the Mendoubia Park in the together top names from throughout heart of the old town and is a week- the world, with the superbly restored long celebration of the ancient and Palais Moulay Hafid des Institutions modern musical heritages of three Italiennes as a venue. Jazz and more continents. It’s an ideal opportunity On location in Tangier jazz is on the agenda, along with a to discover upcoming young artists, richly diverse programme of artistic and to get to see a variety of great activities and intellectual encounters. names rarely to be found performing With Tanjazz, Tangier has revived on the World’s usual tour

The Mediterranean Nights Festival 19

The Tanjazz Festival

The Tangier International share their experiences. Amateur Theatre Festival The Tanja Latina Festival The festival is held every May under the First held in 2008, the festival is honorary presidency of Pierre Bergé, entirely devoted to music. arts patron and man of the theatre. Take to the floor to the sound Prizes are awarded by category (shows, of sambas, rumbas, salsas, and actors, stage sets, and direction) by batucadas performed by top names an international jury. The event also from the world of Latin music. provides an opportunity for actors to meet their fans and for theatre companies from different countries to 20

Tangier in a new light

An “oh so British!” heritage The first in a long tradition, Tangier’s very considerable dexterity, but the Royal Golf Club was designed by rewards make it all worth it – the white Cotton and Pennink in 1914. His city of Tangier’s rooftops glinting in Majesty King Hassan II brought it the sunlight as far as the eye can see. up to date, but took care to preserve This is a course where experienced its natural, open, and spontaneous players can really try out their skills character. Typically British in and where beginners can discover the design, the course runs between joys of the game without frustration. hills and valleys, with long narrow, slightly curved fairways, its 18 holes Tangier can also take pride in its undulating among cypress, pines, firs, cricket club, fruit of its bygone Horse riding along and eucalyptus. The par-4 fifth hole English heritage and a venue for the seashore requires careful concentration and matches between international teams.

Tangier golf club 21

Tangier’s beaches are ideal for a wide range of water sports

On the crest of a wave! In Tangier, the sea is at your service, holidaymakers. Alongside all this, with diving, windsurfing, jet-skiing, of course, a full selection of classic surfboarding and a range of other sports is on offer, including tennis, water sports all on the bill of fare, horse riding, archery, and clay-pigeon while the city’s yacht club provides shooting. A project is currently in the pleasant surroundings and top-quality pipeline for transforming Tangier’s facilities for sailing enthusiasts. And, port into a cruise-ship and yachting more recently, an aquatic theme harbour. park has opened to cater for younger 22

Along the Atlantic coastline

Larache The Azure resort, Located 90 km south of Tangier, currently under , lies at the mouth of Oued is designed as a destination for Loukkos. The Kasbah, with its winding nature lovers and sailing and water- archwayed streets, was built in 1491, sports enthusiasts. The resort will and was once a pirate stronghold. include two 18-hole golf courses, The town centre features some fine a yachting harbour, shops and a examples of Andalusian architecture, forest park., and will also offer a and Jean Genet’s grave can be visited range of activities connected with in the Spanish cemetery at the end its hinterland (hunting, horse-riding of the corniche. The pinewood that and excursions). Focusing on “well- begins just 500 metres from the being, health and nature”, Lixus has The town of Larache central square stretches for kilometres selected a magnificent natural setting along the ocean shoreline. between the Punta Negra cliff, the Reggada hills, Oued Loukkos, and Near Larache, the ruins of the the Ras Armel forest, a profusion of Carthaginian and Roman port of pine trees, broom trees, dwarf palms Lixus stand on the opposite bank of and eucalyptus. Oued Loukkos.

The Lixus archaeological site 23

The Portuguese bastion,

Asilah Asilah has a charm all of its own, concerts. A strategically located port, its white houses with their touches Asilah has passed through Roman, of brilliant blue and subtle green Spanish and Portuguese hands, and distinguishing it from other towns in the its bastions, towers and defiant walls region. Music fills its streets, paintings make for some pleasant walks along bring its medina walls to vibrant life, a shoreline dotted with restaurants and, every summer, its International serving excellent cuisine based on Cultural Festival provides a rich fresh local fish. programme of theatre, dance, and

A street in Asilah 24

The Mediterranean and the foothills of the Rif

The Mediterranean coast: The first foothills of the Rif Ksar Sghir Mountains Located on the right bank of the Turning inland, we come to the mouth of the Ksar Sghir river, on Rif, a young chain of Mountains the Mediterranean coast, the town and ideal ground for trekking and dates back to around 100 BC, as we hiking enthusiasts. Talassemtane know from the remains of an ancient Park in the region fish-salting manufactory on the covers over 60,000 hectares of site. In 1458, Ksar Sghir was taken magnificent mountain massifs and by the Portuguese, who remained plunging cliffs. The park is home to in occupation until the early 17th a wide selection of fauna, including century. Their departure was a cause wild boar, foxes, monkeys, Bonelli’s for celebration among Arabs expelled eagles, booted eagles, long-legged from , who were then free buzzards, and falcons. Opening on to to come and make their homes there. these rugged and austere mountains, These days, its main interest in the the town of Chefchaouen is a haven Riffi women eyes of many tourists lies in the of well-being, a remaining fragment charm of its architecture, testimony of old Andalusia. Its winding to a bygone age, and the beauty of streets, medieval houses painted the creeks nearby. with blue-tinted whitewash and its fine old kasbah make it a favourite destination for artists, and indeed for all those who simply want to sit back and dream the day away.

Creeks along the Mediterranean coast 25

The foothills of the Rif Mountains 26

Information and useful addresses

Practical information Useful addresses and contacts Entry formalities Regional Tourist Office : A valid passport for a stay of less than 29, boulevard Pasteur 90 days is required. An identity card Tel: 05 39 94 86 69/ 94 80 50 may suffice, depending on country of Fax: 05 39 94 86 61 origin, if the trip is organised by a travel agency for a group of over 3 people. A Regional Council : visa is required for some nationalities 139, avenue Beethoven, – enquire at a Moroccan consulate immeuble Hamza, appt 16 or diplomatic representation in your Tel: 05 39 94 18 37 country. No specific vaccinations are Fax: 05 39 94 53 48 required for entry into the Kingdom of Morocco. If you are bringing your pet ONCF Railway station : Malabata along with you, however, you will need Call centre: 08 90 20 30 40 to be able to produce an anti-rabies Website: www..ma certificate less than 6 months old. Ibn Batouta Airport : Changing money Call center : 08 90 00 08 00 Moroccan currency is the dirham, made up of 100 centimes. Foreign currency Golf : Royal golf de Tangier must be exchanged at banks or other www.golfdumaroc.com accredited establishments. Weather Forecast : www.meteoma.net Morocco is in the Greenwich time zone, and time is G.M.T. Office des Changes (Currency Regulator Authority): Emergency phone numbers : www.oc.gov.ma Police 19 Fire Brigade 150 Event Calendar Directory enquiries 160 March : Women Creators Festival, Asilah Road safety services 177 March : National Diplomatic Corps Rally April : International Books and Arts Fair June : Tanjazz Festival June : Mediterranean Nights Festival July : International Meeting, Tangier August : Asilah International Cultural Festival November : Tanja Latina

For further information: www.visitmorocco.com Photo credits: ONMT, Cécile Tréal & Jean-Michel Ruiz 27 Moroccan National Tourist Office www.visitmorocco.com