Kasbah

The Old town in Tangiers is the walled Medina, and the soul of the city is supposedly the Kasbah, built on the site of the original Roman settlement in the North western quarter.
We decide that rather than walk through the Medina we would walk around the walls roughly following the coastline past the fishing fleet docks.

There is a pedestrian pathway climbing up above the Port de Peche and eventually leading to a gate in the old walls known as the Bab Bhar.

Its a fair climb but the views are worth it, we had intended to visit the museum of the Kasbah. but having turned right after entering the Kasbah we had to resort to employing some very helpful children to direct us through the winding passages to the museum entrance which turned out to have been about 100 metres from the Bab Bhar, so it goes.....

For future reference if you look down and see a pebbled diamond shape in the pavement you are on the tourist track. The museum is housed in a former Sultans palace and is close by the Mosque with its distinctive octagonal minaret.

We paid the children and our entrance fee, both very modest and spent the next couple of hours looking around the Museu de Archeolagique. It was at least cool , for which we were thankful.

The central courtyard is a beautiful tiled and pillared space from which  (from right to left) several rooms hold exhibits dating from Neolithic times to the 19th century seven rooms in all. The courtyard tilework is known as "zellij", and is not unsurprisingly, familiar

The two rooms at either end of the courtyard are similar and both have a beautiful carved door and upon entering fabulous filigree decoration and a quite stunning ceiling, for which a mirror is thoughtfully provided to see the full effect.

Photographs really dont do it justice as the delicate 3d effect really has to be seen in situ.

It is marvellous, Islamic art and artisanship at its very best. My photo below illustrates the mirror rather than the ceiling but I include it for curiosity value.

In this day and age when Islam has such a bad press it is easy to forget that for almost a millennium it was a shining beacon of art and learning, maths and science, philosophy and literature.

Traveling through the Iberian peninsula we were used to the " Moorish " influence, but here was the real thing. The decoration, chrysanthemum patterns and other geometric constructions, avoiding representation of living things which is not permissible under Islam.

It has a delicacy and wonderful symmetry which is very aesthetically pleasing, of course like any religious dogma exceptions often prove the rule and in a corner of the room dedicated to the Portuguese invasion and occupation we found representations of Manuelline influence with the twisted rope border and even the Lancashire rose, representing the house of Lancaster.

As we made our way to the garden courtyard, a haven of peace, as it was meant to be by its original architects, I was pondering how the tenets of Islam and indeed Christianity had been perverted by politics, how much had each borrowed from the other, and how similar those basic ideas were.

In the midst of a peaceful garden we came across a Napoleonic canon

Possibly a 12 pounder, it seemed incongruous to come across it in this peaceful haven, but then again this part of the world was used to incorporating foreign ideas as well as conflict.

It had always been on the edge of the Muslim world and just outside the western one.

After occupying the Iberian peninsular for nearly six hundred years the Moors were forced to retreat back to North Africa. The legacy of subsequent events remains in the language and the Imperial "N"
engraved on the cannons barrel. Morocco gained independence from France the year before I was born in 1956.

The history certainly runs deep here, thousands of years of interaction and commerce, but the basic order of things remains.

Further on in the Museum we came across a room containing a beautiful mosaic depicting "The Voyage of Venus", which had been moved from the ancient town of Volubillis in the Atlas mountains. It is best viewed from the gallery above.

There are several brilliant maps that attempt to explain the movement of peoples and goods in the ancient world. Something I think we tend to underestimate in the modern day and age.
Trade routes were established from east Africa to Greenland.

An older reproduction map seems to be utterly wrong in its representation of the world until you turn it the right way up. Mecca is in the centre and south is at the top.  In the photo below Lynnes head is obscuring Spain.

The artifacts in the museum are fascinating and its just a small pity that the information could not include an English translation.

The Voyage of Venus is indeed a magnificent Mosaic especially when seen from above.

There are also representations of tombs, some in the walls of the palace, and others...….

From archeological digs in various parts of the hinterland.

There are also exhibits that explain the huge cultural influence, Roman, Greek, and indeed our own U.K. has had on Morocco.

The exhibitions are fascinating, it would be easy to spend an afternoon in  the cool spaces.

However we needed to move on, past the famous octagonal minaret of the Mosque and into the winding narrow streets of the Kasbah.

I imagine that because it is a more tourist oriented quarter it is not as frenetic, dirty and noisy as the rest of the medina. The few shops are tucked away and if you know where to look there are even signposts showing the tourist pathways.

The lack of crowds encourages a slower pace and we lingered awhile, bumping into our child guides again as we explored the narrow streets.

If you ignore the powerlines and satellite dishes you could very well be in another century. Some of the buildings remind you of paintings by Matisse, because the small shops have postcards showing the same view painted by the French master who spent some time here.

We wandered to the main gate at the North western corner of the walled quarter, the Bab el Kasbah. There we found a delightful open air cafe under a shady tree and had some mint tea.

Mint tea usually involves a bit of a wait as it takes time to prepare, if you are in no hurry this is not a problem as you can sit and watch the world go by. It is a little oasis of peace before we plunged back into the sensory overload of the medina.

Tangier

The Tanger  Marina Bay International had opened only a few weeks before and we had scant information about facilities or even its exact location.
Lynne had been in email communication with Nezha who had assured us that we would be welcome. She was actually waiting on the reception pontoon when we arrived and helped to guide us through the formalities of clearing in. The marina was fully staffed with "guardians" on duty to prevent unauthorised access to the pontoons. The majority of berths are stern to and we were lucky to be given one of the few on a finger berth (not a lot of competition for space) It is not quite finished but is a very promising start and I am sure will be a success. The onshore facilities are also impressive although waste disposal needs to be thought about. At the moment there are only waste bins along the promenade, which is swept and mown every day and I am sure the bins are emptied so possibly I am being picky.

The actual pontoons are at the moment largely empty and as a consequence are popular with seagulls however they are hosed down regularly by the unfailingly polite staff. The showers and offices are housed in the new buildings seen behind Dark Tarns stern. They are popular with locals in the evenings as there are several restaurants that are perfect for an evenings "promenade".

Once we had settled in it was time to go and explore Tangier, the waterfront has recently been redeveloped ,the marina complex being part of this. There is still work in progress om luxury housing adjacent to the ferry terminal. The dock containing the marina is self contained and separate from the ferries now so wash from them is no longer a problem. Commercial container traffic has been moved to Tanger Med a few miles east and the cruise ships, fishing fleet and ferries have their own docks.

We walked along the front towards the old town , the "Medina". Its very busy, dirty, and the smells colour and noise are a bit overwhelming

Walking past the many stalls we saw the Berber women in their distinctive costume, Their hats are very notable being decorated with what seem to be furry cat tails! I didn't photograph them for fear of giving offence.

After a very hot climb into the Medina we decided to stop at the Cafe de Parc for a mint tea, something we had been introduced to in Gibraltar. After we had sat down at a table on the balcony it became apparent that Lynne was the only woman in the place. This was a little off the tourist track and no indication was ever given that we had caused offence. In fact we were surprised at how friendly and polite everyone seemed.

There is a fantastic mish mash of tradition and technology evident. everyone seemed to have a mobile phone, in fact Morocco is way ahead of the UK in that the whole country was on 4G phone and data signal. I found this street where the satellite dishes sit happily on top of the traditional buildings and shops.

Just Near the Park is the Anglican church of St Andrew. Its very visible by the Flag of St George flying from its minaret like steeple.

The church was opened for us by a very helpful warden and we were treated to a guided tour, the church is really rather lovely. The pillars were carved by craftsmen I believe from Fez and the building is a wonderful melding of styles and symbology. Mainly Moorish but there are elements of Coptic and Jewish faiths there too.

The Moorish influence is striking looking toward the altar, with a quotation from the Gospel in Arabic carved around the distinctive Moorish arch. I believe verses and dedications from both Bible and Koran form part of regular Sunday services. It says a lot about Tangiers and Morocco, this melting pot of cultures at the western end of the Mediteranean.

The interior ceilings are also typical Moorish and are intricately carved, they are simply stunning. It is not very obvious from the photo but the decorations are not simply inlaid they are three dimensional and form the usual floral motif favoured by Islam.

Our guide was very informative and explained at length about the numerous plaques set into the walls. The two just to the right of the Altar arch were donated by the Jewish community.

Further right still was this intriguing plaque commemorating T.G. Kirby Green who was one of the prisoners shot after the Great Escape as celebrated in the movie of the same name.

The church and graveyard are a real oasis of tranquility in an otherwise noisy and chaotic part of the city

There are some notable people buried in the graveyard, not least the small war graves plot in a shady spot just off the entrance courtyard.

Outside this peaceful haven life in the Medina goes on. The whitewashed wall to the right in the picture below marks the church grounds and just the other side spilling over into the road Berber women sell fruit and vegetables.

We walked further into the Medina and fell into the usual tourist trap of an unofficial local guide, we had maybe been lulled into a false sense of security by the welcome we had received at St Andrews but it was not a negative experience. We were led to a shop selling carpets and offered mint tea. we were also escorted to the roof to see the stunning views over the city.

T
he Medina is a fantastic hodge podge of buildings which actually follow a common pattern, the streets radiate out from the Mosque in the centre with main routes on a roughly North South East and West.

Mohammed was very informative about the history of the Medina and of Morocco in general. Later he would tell us of the patterns and meanings of Moroccan carpets. Although we explained we lived on a boat we think he misunderstood us to mean a cruise ship that was docked that afternoon.

We did point out that our boat was " over there" just past the minaret of the mosque and we really didn't have room for a carpet but we left on the best of terms and the loss only a few Dirhams to our "guide"

The views alone were worth the few coins.....
from our vantage point on the roof we noticed just below us a small mosque completely surrounded by encroaching buildings and once we had left the shop we went to have a look at the entrance.

These are always green. In the photo below Lynne is looking into the courtyard seen in the photo above.

She didn't go in that would have been frowned upon. Eventually with the aid of our "guide we found our way out of the warren of tiny streets and back on the front towards the marina. As we approached we noticed we had new neighbours. It was a Dutch registered boat (with Spanish owners ) that had obviously damaged its foresail. The crew were asleep presumably after an epic crossing. Yes, it was still windy in the straits.

Later we helped them to cut away their shredded genoa from the luff foil, a tricky job that involved several trips up the mast and the loan of some tools from us. However a couple of hours saw it done and we were rewarded with a bottle of wine.

Finally that evening we walked out to watch seemingly hundreds of locals playing with their children in the coloured fountains on the front. This seems a very popular pastime in the evening . The children certainly enjoyed it!

So ended our first full day in Morocco, we had been amazed by the hospitality and friendliness shown to us. There is an element of culture shock to be sure and to a great extent we were sheltered from some aspects by the privilege of staying in our guarded enclave of the marina but we looked forward to exploring some more of this fascinating country.