Michael Toler The Knife Sharpener of Tangier This being the eve of the Aïd, the culmination of the Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca, knives are being sharpened all over the Muslim world, in preparation for the sacrifice of millions of sheep. BBC has a nice explanation of the feast. We wish our Muslim friends عيـــد مبــــارك سعيــــــد … Read more Sheep Tales
L'Escadrille Chérifienne Recently Moroccan satellite TV audiences tuned in to ARTE, the Franco-German cultural channel, to see Daniel Cling's excellent new documentary, Abdelkrim et la Guerre du Rif. For many, it was the first time footage on this war from Morocco's colonial past was seen on TV. The war was important in many ways – … Read more Lafayette, We Are Here In Morocco’s Rif
Most of our readers either "bookmark" or mark as a "favorite" TALIM Director's Blog (http://www.talimblog.org). That still works like a charm, and thanks to the wonders of Google and other search engines, people continue to serendipitously stumble across our site. Now, thanks to TALIM Board member and tech whiz Dr. Michael Toler, readers can also … Read more Newsletter: A New Way To Read TALIM Director’s Blog
Just an ordinary Friday afternoon, an hour or so before closing. What is this – a takeover? More than a dozen French people, with sketch pads and watercolors, descend on our courtyard. It's Franck Hommage (seated on chair, far right) and his friends. This artist from eastern France (he works largely in Nancy) was enticed … Read more Impromptu Art School: Legation Courtyard
Don't worry if you can't make out the cartoon captions. They're in Spanish anyway. Last night the Tangier Instituto Cervantes opened "Casablanca," an exhibit of sometimes whimsical pop art inspired by the film. The point of this post is not creative cartoonists, but the parallels between the Casablanca depicted in the film (celebrating its … Read more When Tangier Was Casablanca: Rick’s Café & Dean’s Bar
All the Morocco guide books mention it: Tetouan's Ecole des Arts et Métiers (EAO in the Spanish that is still very prevalent in Tetuán: Escuela de artes y oficios). Weekenders should abstain: you can only visit the Artisanal School Monday through Thursday. But it's worth rearranging your itinerary. Tetouan is the first (established 1919 under … Read more Tetouan: Morocco’s Mecca For Historic Preservation
"On October 9, the new office building of the Consulate General was completed, and on October 16 the move from the old buildings was completed." The laconic entry of the anonymous diplomat or consular clerk, writing in his or her best "Palmer Method" penmanship, belies its historic importance. What is being described above, from one … Read more Medina Diplomats: December 7, 1797 – October 16, 1961
A shopping expedition to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta does not provide the material for sophisticated socio-political analysis, so this little report will be mostly impressionistic. Maybe it's because we live inside the walled medina of Tangier, but we found Ceuta's 7 square miles surprisingly expansive. Partly that's because of the fantastic coastal road that … Read more Ceuta: Spain’s Toehold On the Strait of Gibraltar
Our post on J. Rives Childs, Chargé d'Affaires at the Tangier American Legation during World War II, has elicited a fascinating comment from a friend of his. We repeat David Meyer's letter below to give it proper attention, as Mr. Meyer begins to answer one of the questions we raised in January: does J. Rives … Read more Rives Childs: Remembering the Righteous on Yom Kippur
L to R: Tony Spears, Mhamed Ismaili, Tommy Johnson Earlier this year I joked that the Legation fire plan consisted of praying to St. Florian, patron saint of fire fighters. In the ensuing year, we have made a little progress towards our goal of surviving a fire, and saving the contents of this historic building. … Read more Museum-Quality Extinguishers: Fire Prevention Week
