Rocking the Casbah!

I was cold sitting outside at dinner last night, so I had a tough time deciding what to wear this morning. Do I dress lightly for the African desert, or warmly for the chilly morning and evening? We were on our way to Morocco!

Clearly, I am not writing this in real time, so let me start by emphasizing: “Wow! What an incredible and magical day this was! Such an incredible introduction to the city of Tangier and Moroccan culture!” This was a day to remember!

We met Said – the main guide, and Mustafa – our personal guide for the day, right at the gate to the ferry. Specifically, as we were walking off the ramp, someone called out to me:

“Have you booked a tour?”

“Yes” I replied.

“Are you Matt? Are you looking for Said?”

I guess we look very much like tourists.

We set out on the tour to see the main attractions outside of the city centre, first. We started with the largest mosque in Tangier,

and a tour through the newer Spanish and British quarters, including views of the city and Perdicaris Park.

We learned about the history of Tangier (invaded at various times by eight other countries) and about the progressive agenda of the current King (in terms of women’s emancipation, economical development, and foreign investment).

Then, the tour got really exciting, really fast!

Kicking things off was a camel ride along the beach.

The baby camel in the background was two days old!

We explored Hercules’ Cave where, legend has it, Hercules rested after either:
1. Separating Africa and Europe by spreading apart the pillars of Hercules (this was according to our guide, Mustafa);
2. Smashing through one massive mountain that was once the god Atlas, leaving two smaller mountains behind, to avoid having to hike over/around the mountain; or
3. Narrowing the Strait of Gibraltar to prevent sea monsters from the Atlantic entering the Mediterranean. 

Mustafa took us to Café Hafa to enjoy traditional Moroccan Mint tea (also known playfully as “Moroccan Whiskey” in a country where Islam’s prominence makes drinking alcohol a discrete event). Stunning views of the Atlantic coastline in this café frequented – near as we could tell – by locals. (The call to prayer was going on as we made our way to the restaurant. Mustafa excused himself while we were drinking tea, possibly to pray.)

Finally, we entered the casbah, the old fortress that is the ancient city centre.

Mustafa - of Berber origin, himself - had explained the three main languages in Tangier: Arab, Berber, and French. Occasionally, one sign depicts them all

Before stopping for lunch, I got a lot closer to a poisonous snake than I ever expected to…

…though still not as close as the snake charmer!

For lunch, we ate traditional Moroccan cuisine from a traditional Moroccan tagine. We were serenaded by traditional musicians in the background.

Once we were fed, we were back out to explore the old city some more. Said was at the restaurant and in his intensely friendly way – leaning right in and gripping my hand – explained that Mustafa would take us anywhere we wanted to go. I asked about the fledgling wine industry in Morocco, acknowledging that it might be a sensitive topic in a Muslim country. As Said walked us toward the market with Mustafa following, Said would stop every few feet and lean in again – to tell us where Mustafa would take us to get wine, to tell us about the ceramics we were going to see in the market, and to tell us that he would personally get our passports stamped at the ferry to head back to Tarifa at the end of the day. Talk about intense (and excellent!) customer service!

Said explained that Moroccan wine was excellent. Being a Muslim, he had never drunk it, himself, but he gave a tour to Frances Ford Coppola, who owns a winery in California. Coppola told him that Moroccan wine is excellent, and Coppola knows. So there you have it!

We stopped at various shops to see textiles and ceramics.

We wandered the alleyways where Moroccans went about their daily business.

Mustafa showed us the community oven, where Moroccans – many of whom don’t have ovens in their homes – bring their dough to have bread baked each day.

And this brought an interesting perspective on rents in Tangier. Like many places (including Toronto), average rent in Tangier takes up about half of someone’s salary. However, things we take for granted – such as indoor plumbing and appliances – aren’t guaranteed in Tangier apartments. We didn’t delve into the details enough with Mustafa to know what a fully-appointed apartment would go for, but it trikes me that there is a major cost to live in this most industrialized of Moroccan cities.

On our way back to the ferry, we stopped at what was essentially a convenience store to buy Moroccan wine. This was clearly a functional stop. Hopefully Coppola is right and Moroccan wine really is good – we bought two bottles knowing this isn’t exactly an LCBO item.

By this point, I was starting to get rather anxious about making our ferry back. The ferry was scheduled to leave at 5pm and it was getting close. We arrived at the ferry terminal, and then had to wait a few minutes for Said as my anxiety grew. Finally Said arrived and he walked us right past the line-ups, personally handed our passports to the customs officers, then walked us past the line-up and up the gangplank for the ferry. I felt like royalty, with a touch of guilt at bypassing the line where over a hundred people waited patiently. (I assume Said has “arrangements” with the customs officers to allow for this kind of freedom.) Turns out Said and Mustafa knew exactly what they were doing, as the 5pm ferry didn’t leave until 5:45pm. SO our Moroccan adventure ended (until we come back for a longer trip!).

We wandered the narrow alleys and streets in Tarifa looking for a restaurant that was actually open for dinner. As a gateway to Morocco, this city rocks. As a tourist destination unto itself? It’s appealing, but probably needs a little more development.