Michael Toler Art critic and social historian Terence MacCarthy has done it again: another historic hotel, another book. The title choice A Room With a View may disturb E.M. Forster and Merchant-Ivory fans, but the subtitle shows that this is not plagiarism: A History of the Grand Hotel Villa de France. And it's MacCarthy's Tangier, not Forster's … Read more The Rooms Still Have a View
Commemorations often have a political or symbolic edge, so the 1912 establishment of French and Spanish protectorates in Morocco has been noted, but of course not celebrated. It's different with the centenary of the Moroccan post office. Cause for celebration – and innovation, with the first "audio stamp," which can play the national anthem on … Read more A Century of Moroccan Mail
The Tangier American Legation Pavilion; photo by Elizabeth Gill Lui Though it is emblematic of the entire institution, the Pavilion was the last of the historic Legation buildings erected in this collection of structures built around and over pedestrians-only America Street in Tangier's medina. Here's what Honor Bigelow wrote of the building 80 years … Read more Legation Pavilion: Endangered National Treasure
http://www.pbs.org/wned/war-of-1812/home Today's post is an admission of ignorance, prompted by the resurgence of interest in the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States, with its bicentennial commemorations (check the PBS link above, plus this great Navy/Marine/Coast Guard site, "Our Flag Was Still There"). With the resources at hand (8,000 volume library, JSTOR database … Read more Moroccan Questions for War of 1812 Experts
On this Fourth of July, when across the United States, and in those places overseas where Americans meet, the red, white and blue decorates many a barbecue and picnic, we display this gift of Moroccans to Americans, dating back to the late 1950s. American flags haven't flown over the Legation in, what, more than 50 … Read more Consul, Wrapped In Flag: Odd Legation Tales
After three days of conferencing, the Legation's fountains and birds are again audible in the relative calm of the medina. Not that we're complaining: a better group of participants couldn't be found. We have just hosted an illustrious group of experts on Berber Societies, the theme of this year's AIMS – American Institute for Maghrib … Read more Berber Societies: AIMS Conference 2012 at TALIM
For the past 62 years, there has been an American campus in this city – the American School of Tangier (AST), the first such school in Morocco, offering classes K-12. Now, with the announcement by UNE – Maine's University of New England – of plans to establish a presence at AST, there will be a … Read more An American Campus in Tangier
House Bunting (Emberiza sahari), American Legation Tangier (photo by Christiane Delongueville) Last year, when I wrote about "wildlife" in the medina, I neglected a whole class of the animal kingdom: birds. How could I? They are by far the most ubiquitous creatures in this mostly treeless part of the city. We're not really bird watchers, … Read more Buntings on the Balcony
The personnel of the American Legation must have been as excited as the rest of Tangier on April 5, 1928. The swimmer herself would have been out of sight, a tiny figure among the waves and treacherous currents of the Strait of Gibraltar, though her flotilla of witnesses, onlookers, and supporters may have been visible. … Read more First Across the Strait: Mercedes Gleitze 1928
Well, it wasn't really an exhibit, but rather a film of an artist and her exhibit. The artist is Carla Querejeta Roca, a Spanish Tangeroise (or perhaps Tangerina) whose family has strong roots in this city on the Strait of Gibraltar. The filmmaker is Jean-Claude Sussfeld, who has begun to explore Tangier subjects. The exhibit … Read more Instant Art Exhibit: Carla Querejeta Roca
