Tangier, a cosmopolitan city!

In the far north of Morocco, the city of Tangier invites travelers. On its coasts where the Mediterranean and Atlantic waters converge, you will discover an authentic city cradled by varied influences.

The city of Tangier is said to have been founded by the giant Antaeus, son of Poseidon and Gaia and owes its name to Tingis (or Tinga), the founder’s wife. Antaeus found his strength in contact with the earth, Hercules suffocated him by holding him in the air. The tomb of Antaeus is said to be a hill near Tangier, the Charf. Since then, the city has been called Tingis. Later, Phoenicians and Carthaginians settled there, creating a trading post and a flourishing colony. It was during the reign of Emperor Justinian that Tangier escaped the Romans and came under the control of the Byzantine Empire. At the end of the 7th century, the Arabs seized it and from there launched an assault on Spain.

In 1471, the Portuguese returned victoriously to Tangier and occupied it for more than a century. Today, once again an integral part of the Kingdom of Morocco, it has gradually become normal, like all the other cities in the country. However, its geographical position gives it a specific identity at the link between the two continents. Thus, despite the sites and monuments that bear witness to its long historical past, Tangier is happily looking towards a bright future.

The entire city can be admired from the Place de la Kasbah or from the terrace that extends to the end of Boulevard Pasteur. It is a friendly, hospitable and familiar city. There is a real human warmth that encourages and confirms the large number of admiring passers-by. Countless small shops offer Moroccan crafts and products to passers-by. On the terraces of the cafes, we sip mint tea or Turkish coffee. The hill is covered with houses built in a typically Arab architecture and we often hear some melodious tunes coming out of the half-open windows.

The Medina is the home of thousands of people who live, work and live there. The Grand Socco is the main market square of the medina. Everything is sold and bought there. Trade is flourishing. You are offered various items, spices, hardware, glassware, richly embroidered fabrics, poultry, flowers and all kinds of souvenirs. The crowd is dense. It is made up of tourists, but also Moroccans, Tangiers residents, farmers from neighboring regions. On the day of the souk, the peasant women are recognizable by their large aprons striped with red and white stripes and their huge hats decorated with woolen pompoms and crossed-laced gaiters that they wear. Beyond the Grand Socco, Rue Es Siaghin is the district reserved for jewelers. There you can find admirable jewelry, full of finesse and delicacy, due to the skill of the goldsmiths. Rings, bracelets, gold belts attract a large and interested clientele.

It is very close by that you can discover the great mosque built in the 17th century by Moulay Ismail on the land formerly occupied by the Portuguese cathedral. Majestic, you enter through an entrance door decorated with interlacing on a background of mosaic in carved and painted wood with inscriptions in Kufic characters. At the Museum of Antiquities, you can admire tools, weapons, coins and paintings that trace the prehistoric and Roman past of Morocco and more particularly of the beautiful city of Tangier. Thanks to the stable temperature that reigns there, millions of visitors find happiness on its beaches at the junction of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. A renowned seaside resort, a modern city resolutely turned towards the future, Tangier is slowly but happily continuing its path towards a flamboyant future.