The Berkeley Guides:
Berkeley Guide to Europe:
Morocco:
Tangier
Tangier has a lovely beach, swell views across the Strait of Gibraltar, and a fascinating role in modern Western culture, but you may be better off catching the first train outta here--the Morocco you came for lies further south. The hustlers at Tangier's train and ferry stations are among Morocco's most intimidating and have a reputation for scaring travelers right out of the country. From the moment you step off the ferry, prepare to be harangued and hassled by unofficial guides and "friends" intent on showing you the medina, their favorite restaurant, or the inside of a carpet shop. Still, Tangier's lovely kasbah and dizzying medina are worth a peek, so if you've got some time to kill and can find a manageable young guide willing to work cheap (10dh), why not let him show you around?
Tangier entered the European imagination in the years following 1912, when the major European powers settled all claims on this strategically important city by granting it international status (which meant everyone had a finger in the Tangier pie). Until Moroccan independence in 1956, this luxurious resort was home to shadowy financiers, expatriate writers and musicians, and an unprecedented gay scene. Hints of the period remain--the United Kingdom, Germany, and France still have consulates here, and there's a small community of foreign expats.
To reach the city from the waterfront avenue d'Espagne, walk northwest on Zankat Salah Eddine el Ayoubi. You'll emerge onto Grand Socco (also called Place de 19 Avril 1947), once Tangier's central market. On the square's east side are two arches, and between them is a narrow crowded lane, rue es Siaghin, which curves right toward the Petit Socco, a 19th-century market and now a noisy hangout. The left-hand arch, Bab Fahs, opens onto rue d'Italie. From here follow the signs up rue de la Kasbah (you'll go through a tunnel, a small square, and then a second tunnel) to Place de la Kasbah, where the town's government was once centered. Head through the Bab Hahr gate (left of the square) for a panoramic glimpse of Spain's coast. On the square, hidden in the right corner, is the entrance to the old Dar el Makhzen (Royal Palace); it now houses a museum (tel. 09/93-20-97; admission 10dh), with pottery, clothing, daggers, and a room of archaeological finds from the Roman site of Volubilis, near Meknes. Rue des Almohades, a popular shopping street, snakes into the medina from the Hotel Mauritania's entrance on the Petit Socco. As a rule, save your dirhams for cheaper and more authentic goods in cities farther south.
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