Tangier & the North
Why go?
Raffish Tangier, a short ferry hop from Spain but a world away from
Europe, has seduced artists, writers and the glamorous since the
20s - from Henri Matisse to the Beat Poets, Rita Hayworth to the
Rolling Stones. Most (though not all: Mark Twain wished to leave
after the first day!) have fallen under old Tangier's spell. The
medina, the mosques, the alleys, the souks and the sloping sunlit
squares, the snake-like music rattling from tiny speakers, the pink
sunsets, the endless profferings of sweet mint tea... all add up to
an exotic charm. And it is the hilltop Kasbah - palace and
administrative quarter since Roman times, and walled off from the
medina - where most visitors like to stay.
There are western influences too, particularly as Tangier develops
into one of the most important ports in the world. New conference
facilities, a pleasure port, a feeling of upmarket resort...
Tangier is a city on the move.
Tangier was reclaimed by Morocco in 1956 and, in common with all
Moroccan cities, is a heady blend of old and new. It is also an
enjoyable antidote to chilly northern winters. Then there are the
wild Rif Mountains, a hippy hiker's dream, and Asilah - first stop
on the train line down the coast. Not only is Asilah one of the
most elegant of the old Portuguese ports, the mood of its lovely
ocean-side medina (and that of its salesmen) is far more sotto
voce than Tangier's.