20160510TangierMorocco | Spain May 2016

May 10, 2016, Tuesday — Tangier, Morocco

Arthur was somewhat under the weather, so he stayed at the hotel, but Martha joined the part of the group that took a ferry across the straits of Gibraltar to Tangier, Morocco. We drove from Torremolinos to Tarifa (I wonder if that’s where the word tariff came from), to get our ferry.

the port where we took the ferry across the straights of Gibraltar to Tangier, Morocco

views of the port of Tarifa, Spain

Nancy Crampton and Jim Crampton

castle of Santa Catalina

castle of Santa Catalina

Jesus Christ statue in the port of Tarifa

sights and the Spanish coast from the ferry

container ship

Tangier
Tangier was founded by in the early 5th century BCE Carthaginian colonists, who were probably the first ones to settle around the coast. The history of Tangier is very rich, due to the historical presence of many civilizations and cultures starting from before the 5th century BC. Between the period of being a strategic Berber town and then a Phoenician trading center to the independence era around the 1950s, Tangier was a nexus for many cultures. In 1923, it was considered as having international status by foreign colonial powers, and became a destination for many European and American diplomats, spies, writers and businessmen. Tangier has been reputed as a safe house for international spying activities.[18] Its position during the Cold War and during other spying periods of the 19th and 20th centuries is legendary. Tangier acquired the reputation of a spying and smuggling centre and attracted foreign capital due to political neutrality and commercial liberty at that time.

sights along the Moroccan coast coming into Tangier

the ferry terminal in the Port of Tangier

Spartel lighthouse

View of the old medina of Tangier

flag of Morocco

old painting of market outside of the walls of Tangier

Young ladies on a terrace in Tangiers (1880s) by Rudolf Ernst

Tangier ancient wall

View over the Tangier medina from the roof terrace of Dar Jameel

American Legation entrance

one of the King's palaces

The first thing we did when we got to Tangier was to ride a camel! Juanjo told us that people couldn't live in the desert without the camel. They give milk, are patient, used as transports, and the hides are used. He also told us some things about the Muslim culture. He said that Muslims are buried on their sides facing Mecca. In the old days Muslim women wore a veil when they married. There were lots of cats and they feed them outside, but dogs are not allowed in their houses. Friday is the day they go to the mosque. At one time there were 330,000 Jews living in Tangiers. In 1951 80% of the Jews that lived in Tangiers went to Israel. However, they still come back to visit. In fact, 60,000 came this year on pilgrimage because there are famous rabbis buried here.

Martha Luehrmann rides a camel

Martha Luehrmann rides a camel

Myrtha Saleme rides a camel

Isabel Sandez rides a camel

Pat Nagy rides a camel

outskirts of Tangier

Tangier schoolgirls

one of the King's palaces

We walked through the Casbah to the old city, or medina, and saw many beautiful examples of Moorish architecture.

gate to the Kasbah

painting of the Souk in older times

Street in Medina (Old City)

The Kasbah

Plaza del 9 de abril de 1947

The Grand Theatre of Cervantes

Jewish cemetery

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narrow alley

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back at the Tangier port

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tiny little closets of shops in the Medina, just as in Turkey
this one is for groceries

tiny little closets of shops in the Medina, just as in Turkey
this one is a tailor shop

On the way we visited a crafts store that was a bit like Aladdin’s cave — chock full to overflowing with treasures

spice bazaar

We visited an exotic spice market. There was strange brown goop that looked like grease used in cars. It was olive oil soap. Green powder was henna that turns into a red dye. Women make designs on their skin for special occasions using henna. The dyed designs stay on the skin for about 2 weeks. When a Muslim woman marries she is careful not to wash one of her hands because she enjoys an extended honeymoon period until the henna pattern wears off. Another item there were crystals that were used as an antiseptic. "House spice" was a mixture of 35 different spices.

strange nuts and fruit in the bazaar

It would be awhile before we ate, so Juan-Jo got some flat bread that looked like an eight inch pancake. We could tear off a hunk and eat it. The local guide's mother had made it fresh and it was still warm.

gate in the bazaar with a woman selling food

Then we went to Hotel El Minzah for an early dinner which included a rolled up version of my favorite appetizer, Bastillas (pie of phyllo pastry, chicken, almonds, cinnamon, onions, and powdered sugar). The main dish was chicken couscous. We were told that the Moroccans only eat couscous on Friday after they have gone to the mosque. Mohammad, the assistant to our guide, was wonderful and helped Martha a lot to try to keep up with the group. He also arranged for Martha to buy a Moroccan flag.

rolled up version of Bastillas (pie of phyllo pastry, chicken, almonds, cinnamon, onions, and powdered sugar) fabulous

couscous

Hotel El Minzah in the Medina where we had this great feast

in the Medina

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the street of the Synagogue

We walked through the Medina back to our ferry to go home.

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the old port

the walkway to get on our ferry

crossing the Strait of Gibraltar from Tangier, Morocco, to Tarifa, Spain

wave patterns

sky patterns

driving from Tarifa back to Torremolinos

old aqueduct

modern wind farm

modern wind farm

the rock of Gibraltar

When we landed back in Tarifa we drove along the coast to a place that had some grand views of the Rock of Gibraltar (hardly a rock… it’s more like a peninsular island). The Strait of Gibraltar is 40 miles inland and was governed by 8 nations because of its strategic location. The British have owned it since 1704 and Spain wants it back. It is 4 1/2 miles wide and has a population of 32,000. That doesn't include the 30 monkeys that run freely over the island and are a tourist attraction. We saw the Pillars of Hercules. One of the "pillars" is the Mussa Mountain and the second is Gibraltar.