Mysterious Morocco - Tangiers/Tangier/Tanger

Yes, I'm back...did you miss me? Our whirlwind trip of Portugal, Spain and Morocco has come to an end and we're wading through the photos, trying to capture the reality of our experiences.

I confess to being a bit uneasy about visiting Morocco. There are a lot of travel advisories for women, when it comes to that country and we've never set foot in Africa before, so there were a lot of unknowns for me. I have to say, I'm glad I went.

Morocco is actually a fairly liberal country, with a long history of mixed colonial rule, as well as mixed religion. It can't be any clearer when you first arrive. There is a tapestry of skin colours, facial features and languages. I've only ever experienced this in either very old countries or very young ones. (Ironic, no?)

Our plane from Gibraltar

We started our foray in Tangier, just a quick flight from Gibraltar. (More on that in another post.) We were met at the airport by our driver who sped us off to the Medina (meaning the non-European area of a North African town) and we had to rely on a (seemingly) crazy person to find our riad (a traditional house in the Medina). It was an intimidating start to our adventure, but we felt welcomed and relaxed, once ensconced in our hotel/riad. The people of Tangiers speak Arabic, French, and, more surprisingly, Spanish, so we had no trouble conversing with shopkeepers or restaurant owners. The manager of our riad (Badr) also spoke English.

View from the terrace

Badr, our host and guide

We had a tour of the Medina and got our first taste of the souks. (I guess you'd call that the shopping district or bazaar.) Having a guide kept "hucksters" at bay. (We'd been warned about this several times: guides that only took you to shops (nothing historic) and got a big cut of the sale (meaning higher prices) or wouldn't leave you alone until you gave them some money. While there is a certain amount of "I did something for you, so you should give me money" it wasn't as aggressive as I feared. So, take that off your things to worry about list. Being firm, but polite, is key to surviving and enjoying Morocco.)

Berber style head scarf

Olives!

We had a wonderful lunch featuring Moroccan/Berber specialties and then toured a Synagogue  in the old Jewish quarter. We got to smell the fresh sea air and marvel at the narrow passage ways that wound, maze-like, through the Medina.

Pigeon Pie 

Tajine and cous cous

Medina Cafe

Walls of the city

Synagogue

There were a lot of amazing things to see and experience, but we marveled the most at the ornate doorways that just dripped with history. (In overwhelming situations, I tend to focus on specific things.)

The other plentiful thing in Tangier (and Morocco, in general) are cats. They're everywhere and I learned that cats are allowed in houses in Morocco, while dogs are not. This has something to do with how the prophet Muhammad viewed cats as the perfect pet.

The wonderful thing about being in the old part of the city is that we got to see a lot more of "traditional" life, meaning traditional dress and crafts. The first time I heard the call to prayer (Muslims pray five times a day) we were sitting on the rooftop of our riad, watching the sunset. It was haunting and soothing all at the same time, hearing the Mullahs call the faithful.

Street leading to the souks

We'd only opted to spend two nights in Tangiers and were off to the train station fairly early the next day, on our way to Rabat. We missed the new part of the city completely, except for seeing it through the taxi window on our way to the train station. I was interested to see how the capital differed.