April 7, 2023
We had a lovely view of Tangier from our room as we docked in the morning. Today we would be exploring Tangier, as well as the historical town of Tetouan whose old city or medina has been well-preserved and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
First, we drove through he modern city of Tangier to its medina (Old Town).
Once in the medina, we walked uphill through narrow streets lined with white homes and businesses with towering archways, intricate doors and windows and painted walls. Plants lined the streets in many of the side paths.
Once at the top, we walked through an ancient archway which opened up to an area with a gorgeous view of the city and harbor, including Zuiderdam.
We then walked back down the hill, winding our way through the souks on our way through the souks.
Our guide let us know that we would be walking to meet the bus after taking a brief shopping and bathroom break. Originally, he had planned on us walking back up the hill to meet the bus, but now we would not have to. However, once we got to the meeting place, no bus (or guide) was to be found - although the other buses, guides and groups were. We waited for between 30 minutes and an hour and were finally met by a different guide who assured us the bus would be there soon. Rumors flew fed by people who had overheard the original guide's conversations with the bus driver and police who said the bus couldn't park where it had been parked at the top of the hill. However, the new guide said the original guide wasn't feeling well. It is Ramadan right now, so our guides are working and leading our tours, but also fasting during the daylight hours. At least we had a beautiful view while waiting!
Back on the bus, we had lost quite a bit of time and it was about an hour to Tetouan, so our guide revised the plan. We would need to skip our refreshment stop and reschedule the rest of the Tangier stops to the end of the trip on our way back to the ship. We sat back and enjoyed the scenic drive to Tetouan. First we passed through the city of Tangier. Our guide pointed out an old historic bull fighting arena that is being restored, although it won't be used for bull fighting.
As we left the city, we passed through the countryside with farms and smaller communities.
Tetouan was a beautiful, thriving modern town as we drove through. The city's nickname is "the white dove" because of its predominantly white buildings and its close, peaceful relationship with Spain. Many of the streets were filled with college students heading to classes at the university there.
As we approached the medina of Tetouan, we could see remnants of the old walls.
As in Tangier, we did a walking tour through the medina, starting with the old kasbah and then the School of Traditional Arts and Crafts and then winding our way through the souks.
After exploring the medina, we visited the Royal Palace at Hassan II Square.
We enjoyed a delicious Moroccan lunch with couscous and tagines before driving back to Tangier.
Once back in Tangier, there wasn't much time before we were due back to the ship, but we still squeezed in a quick trip to St. Andrew's Church and the American Legation. The church also had an old church graveyard with gravestones from over a century ago.
The American Legation was closing as we arrived, but we were still there before they were supposed to close so our guide was able to convince them to let us in for a very quick visit. The American Legation is the only United States National Historic Monument that is located outside of the U.S. That is because Morocco was the first country to recognize the United States as an independent nation way back in 1777.
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