Tangier The White City


Tourists are attracted to Tangiers by its sandy beaches and landscapes resembling those of the French Riviera. This city, located at approx. 30 km from Europe, is a bipolar place. Foreigners dream of an African adventure and the inhabitants of the wealth of the West.

In antiquity the rocks on both banks of the Straits of Gibraltar, called Columns of Hercules; constituted the frontier of the known world of the Europeans. The penetration of the African continent by the Europeans and the European by the Arabs began by crossing this gate of the Mediterranean; whose narrowest point is 14 km.

It was this situation which determined the history of Tangier; the most cosmopolitan of all Moroccan cities. Besides the Arabs, the city is today inhabited by Jews, Spaniards, French, Portuguese, Maltese, Danish and Russians. For many Moroccans, Tangier is the realization of the dream of Europe and the life they consider better and happier. Here the song of the sirens of the rich Occident is particularly pronounced and gentle.

The history of Tangier, located in a picturesque location between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, dates back to the days of Antiquity. According to mythology, the city was founded by Antaeus, son of Poseidon, god of the seas. From ancient times, Tangiers served as a port for the Carthaginians and the Phoenicians. Until the end of the 3rd century, from the port of Tangier, olive oil and cereals from Volubilis were sent to Rome.

When in the 8th century Tangier was conquered by the Arabs, it became the starting point of the Arab years leaving to conquer Spain. The following centuries were marked by incessant disputes over governance in Tangiers, opposing Portugal (governing since 1471), England and the Arabs (the city was conquered for Morocco by Moulay Ismail in 1681).

At the turn of the sixth and twentieth centuries, Tangier became the object of the desire of the European powers. After the colonization of Morocco by France in 1912, the locality became a kind of free city, a special zone with a neutral character and an international status. The years 1940-1945 brought another change: after the occupation of France by Nazi Germany, langer was under the Spanish occupation, since L956, the city is part of the Kingdom of Morocco.

Nowadays, Tangier is a mix of contemporary Arab architecture and neglected colonial monuments. What characterizes them is a momentum of planning, porticos i columns as well as balconies and decorative decked balconies of ornamented balustrades.

Among the best known examples of colonial architecture is the Grand Hotel Villa de France, located rue de la Liberté (north of the Place de France, in the new town), which was renovated in 2009. At it was composed of three buildings, an imposing garden and a swimming pool, the complex occupying an area of ​​500 m², the hotel was home to famous diplomats and artists such as Eugène Delacroix (1832) or Henri Matisse (early 1900 ).
Tangier Monuments

Another important monument of colonial architecture, Hotel Continental is the oldest hotel in Tangier, built in 1870. It was the first hotel in the city to host, among others, the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the Prince of Edinburgh, Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II. This white three-storey building is located in a narrow street in the medina and enjoys a unique view of the harbor, the bay and a wide sandy beach, reached by a spiral staircase. Once the threshold of the hotel is crossed, one feels transported in the years 1920: one finds a piano-bar as in the film has, launched, deep leather armchairs stylized Art deco or old photographs hooked to the walls. The majestic staircase leading to the floors looks like those of the Hollywood movies shot before the Second World War.

The Grand Theater Cervantes, built in 1911 by the Spanish Antonio Gallego, in the time of its splendor, it was one of the most beautiful representations of the Art deco style in Tangier. This three-storey building had a roof terrace with a central section around the sculptures of the Muses.

The building was flanked by a semicircular staircase which gave impetus to the whole of the design. For nearly 50 years, the theater has played the role of a cultural center where the famous tenor Enrico Caruso (1S73-1921) was born in 1918. With a capacity of 1400 seats, it was at the time the most important theater of North Africa. Nowadays, the building is in a deplorable state with only the preserved facade. Yet the Spanish and Moroccan governments promised to renovate it.

Tangier a cultural center

Tangier is also an important cultural center of the Mediterranean coast. Among other things, it organizes the Festival of Mediterranean Short Film of Tangier, whose competition is open to filmmakers from the Mediterranean basin. During the festival, organized over a period of ten years in various months (since 2009 in October), medium-length films and short documentaries are presented.

The Tarab Tanger festival is an interesting proposal for lovers of ethnic music, and especially of different forms of flamenco, with the participation of many American, Japanese, Spanish and Iranian artists. It runs from 27 to 30 June. The city's cultural offer is complemented by the International Festival of Music and the Arts. For five days, at the juncture of June and July, one can participate in concerts of musicians originally from Morocco, France or Spain. It presents new trends in folk music, mixed with rap, hip-hop or opera singing. Each concert is an elaborate musical show with interesting scenography and choreography.

The Medina of Tangier

Only one door, Bab al Assa, leads to the old town of Tangier. Next to it, there is a municipal fountain divided into three with a cedar canopy covered with green tiles. With a colorful mosaic and decorated with stuccoes, it marks permanently the spirits.

The medina of Tangier is in no way different from the medinas of other cities: its winding streets and recesses create a typical labyrinth. Tight between the houses, there are small shops. Its main street, Sidi Ben Raissoul, serpentine, u down Oued-Ahardan Square and leads to the distribution center of leather goods (Hadj Mohammed Torres Street). The street leads to the walls of the medina, where a splendid view of the port of Tangier appears from the mirasse in the street of the Navy.

Going down a small market, Petit Socco square is the center of the medina, where one of the most important souks of the old town is organized. Its offer is typical: fruits, vegetables, meats and other food products necessary for the preparation of tajine but it is also a place where one finds memories of the city: besides the most typical, like the babouche, djellabahs, articles in leather goods elements in cedar wood, Moroccan pouffe it is interesting to get essential oils of Jasmine or Orange, or, landscapes painted by local artists. A visit to one of the cafes or restaurants on the square, or, a glass of mint tea in hand, you can see the daily life of a multicolored crowd of Tangieris.