Don & Kully's World Cruise on Viking Neptune

Today we made our last stop in Morocco and in Africa. Tangier is a pivotal port city linking Africa and Europe, Tangier lies eight miles across the Strait of Gibraltar from the Iberian Peninsula. Long coveted for its strategic location where the Atlantic and Mediterranean meet, numerous empires called it their own throughout history. The city’s vibrancy and multicultural air attracted all manner of artists in the late 20th century, including Henri Matisse and Paul Bowles. Tangier’s ancient walled medina brims with the pleasures of Morocco, from intricate carpets and finely made slippers to fresh dates.

We decided to do a private independent tour of the city that we found through Viator with our friends Mark and Trisha Wells, called “Private Tangier Full day Tour.” Our guide Hamid met us on the cruise ship pier and after brief introductions we loaded into a very comfortable tour van and headed into the modern portion of the city. Hamid explained a little bit about Tangir’s history initially focusing on the period beginning in 1923 when Tangier became an international zone managed by colonial powers, including the USA, until Morocco’s independence in 1958. During this period the city’s neighborhoods were dividing into different zones based upon the colonial powers. There was a Spanish district, a French district, a US district etc. We drove through several of these former districts noting the different styles of architecture. We worked our way up the hills surrounding the city and the higher we got the larger the homes and estates became. We passed by the mayor’s home, the area governor’s home, one of the king’s palaces as-well-as vacation homes for the kings of Saudia Arabia and Kuwait. We stopped at several over looks along the way for pictures.

We finally made our way to the Cape Spartel Light House the most northwestern point of mainland Africa and also the meeting point of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. From here we had beautiful views of Spain and the Straits of Gibraltar.

Our next stop was at Achakkar Beach where we were able to take a Camal Ride.

After our Camal Ride we were off to the Caves of Hercules. According to Greek Mythology after Hercules obtained the golden apples of Hesperides he rested in these caves. A local guide took us through the cave explaining some of the local history surrounding the caves.

We drove back into the central city and entered one of the gates into the Medina (old city) for a visit to the Tangier American Legation Museum. This elegant five story mansion is the only American national monument located outside of the United States. Interestingly, Morrocco was the first country to recognize the fledgling United States in 1777, and this was the first piece of American real estate abroad. In 1786 the United States and Morrocco signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship, the first between any African nation and the US and is the basis of the enduring friendship between the two nations. The treaty remains in force today and no other US treaty has been in force or unbroken as long.

We continued our tour of the Medina with lunch in a local restaurant followed by a walk through the labyrinthine alleyways with stops at historical squares as well as walks through the Souks and fortress contained within the Medina.

Our next port of call is tomorrow in Cadiz (Seville), Spain.