Medina & Metropolis

While it may not have any must-see landmarks, there’s still something special about it: Tangier, the port city located on Morocco’s northern coast.

The city is unique positioned at the crossroads of cultures. Its strategic location right at the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar has made it a primary point of contact between North African, European, and Mediterranean civilizations. Settlers from various cultural backgrounds have passed through, beginning with the Carthaginians, who are believed to have been the first. Other ruling powers have included the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Portuguese, Spaniards, and French.

In the mid-20th century, the city was governed by European allies as the Tangier International Zone, semi-independent of Morocco. This status lasted for more than two decades and led to the city’s reputation as a libertarian haven for Western non-conformists. Eccentrics such as Barbara Hutton, Paul Bowles, William S. Burroughs, Tennessee Williams, the Rolling Stones, Yves Saint-Laurent and many others made the city their temporary or permanent home.

From the 1980s onward, Tangier experienced a steady influx of people from rural northern Morocco and other inland regions. Over time, this transformed the city from a relatively compact port town into a larger, more socially diverse metropolis of more than a million people. At the same time, Tangier lost some of the urban refinement that had once characterized it.

Today, the typical Western visitor is a day-tripper taking a break from beach vacations on Spain’s southern Atlantic coast, the Costa de la Luz. The ferry ride from Tarifa, Spain, to Tangier takes just one hour.