Tangier, Morocco

 

The streets of Tangier

Tangier protects the entrance to the straits of Gibraltar. It was a French protectorate for many years but enjoyed status as a tax-free international city from 1923 to 1957. We entered the old city at the gate of the Kasbar, the Fort. The Kasbar is 9 acres of the 62-acre old city, the Medina or marketplace constitutes the residential and businesses of the city. From the Fort we could see the European continent in the haze. The straits are 8 miles wide and 280 meters deep except at the closest point where it is 1000 meters deep. This is because the Mediterranean waters are salter than the Atlantic so that water sinks and cuts the channel deeper as it escapes into the Atlantic. We found many picturesque spots as we wandered the city. Our guide pointed out scenes that Matisse had painted or that we would find in various movies. The marketplace was busy with lots of folks dressed in traditional kandura (no hood) or jalaba(hooded) long clothes.

The markets

We bussed around the city, and we saw construction everywhere. The population in 1982 was 200K, today it is 1.2 million. The King of Morocco is visiting the city today, so the military were about in their dress uniforms.

Military in their finest

Our lunch was at the Darna farm. They take boys off the street, provide protection for them, and teach them skills particularly in carpentry, cooking, arts, and theatre. Here the boys maintain a petting school for nearby children. Fifteen boys live here and another 18 participate in the activities. Another unit assists disadvantaged girls and women with children. We had a short show of acrobatics.

Lunch at Darna Farm