Tangier was a total bust. The town itself is actually incredibly different from the rest of the towns we've been in. Correction: it's not a town, it's a city. The city is sprawling and built on a series of hills, much like San Francisco. Also, much like San Francisco, it has stairs on its hilltops. We had wanted to check out Tangier because of it's strategic importance on the Straits of Gibraltar and its Free Trade Zone status in the early 20th century. I also thought Tangier would make an economic, great base for day trips. For example, Hercules' rumored home is under 30 kms away from Taniger.
However, that just wasn't meant to be. Tangier is quite an expensive city to stay in. We took a field trip to a place our Moroccan train friends, Nadia, had recommended we visit in Taniger: Cafe Hafa. Cafe Hafa is a restaurant for Moroccans to drink large mint teas set on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean and Spain, just 13 kms across the Straits of Gibraltar. It really is quite beautiful and only a 1.5 km walk...uphill!
We also went to go to the American Legation Museum. Apparently, Morocco was one of the first countries to recognize the US upon it's independence. Morocco was also one of the first countries with a US embassy. Additionally, this museum is the only such museum outside of the US. We went, but ultimately decided not to go in. Seeing George Washington's signature just wasn't worth the whopping $3 for us! I can go see that in DC for free!
Anyway, since we also aren't crossing the Straits to Spain, and weren't feeling Tangier, we decided to settle for a small town just 45 minutes south of Tangier, called Asilah, which was never part of the French Protectorate. Rather, it was part of the Spanish. Time to put my rusty Spanish to the test!
However, that just wasn't meant to be. Tangier is quite an expensive city to stay in. We took a field trip to a place our Moroccan train friends, Nadia, had recommended we visit in Taniger: Cafe Hafa. Cafe Hafa is a restaurant for Moroccans to drink large mint teas set on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean and Spain, just 13 kms across the Straits of Gibraltar. It really is quite beautiful and only a 1.5 km walk...uphill!
We also went to go to the American Legation Museum. Apparently, Morocco was one of the first countries to recognize the US upon it's independence. Morocco was also one of the first countries with a US embassy. Additionally, this museum is the only such museum outside of the US. We went, but ultimately decided not to go in. Seeing George Washington's signature just wasn't worth the whopping $3 for us! I can go see that in DC for free!
Anyway, since we also aren't crossing the Straits to Spain, and weren't feeling Tangier, we decided to settle for a small town just 45 minutes south of Tangier, called Asilah, which was never part of the French Protectorate. Rather, it was part of the Spanish. Time to put my rusty Spanish to the test!
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