Michael Toler The festive music wafting up the hill to the medina was a giveaway: it was either a wedding (unlikely in that it was midday) or His Majesty was in town. Yesterday, Morocco's King Mohammed VI was in Tangier to be briefed on the multimillion dollar plans to convert the port. For centuries, fishing boats, ferries, … Read more Tangier: Old Port, New Port
Last week I told you that the crime scene tape was coming up: well, I didn't find the yellow variety, but red and white stripes will do just fine. I don't want this to be a one-note blog, but these days of torrential rains and raw weather has put building concerns front and center. Try … Read more Incredible Shrinking Museum
Because I like to delve into parallel history, here's what was going on in Tangier December 3rd, 1940: A band of Italian hooligans entered the British Post Office, tore down some photographs and news bulletins and damaged the counter grille. There seems to be no necessity to comment upon these events, which will be treated … Read more 70 Years Ago: Tangier Under Franco’s Rule
I'm not in the habit of running real estate articles, but thanks to vigilant friends of TALIM, I was alerted to an article in today's New York Times. In its "Great Homes and Destinations" series, the Times provides a tantalizing look at how some people (not us!) live in Tangier's medina. "In Tangier, a Traditional … Read more What Money Can Buy in Tangier: More Than a Dry Roof
While the US State Department deals with the Wikileaks crisis, we have our own brand of leaks. The literal kind. Leaks that seep in between the large, gaping spaces in window frames, through shutters that are rotten, or via walls that are cracked from foundering foundations. Think I'm exaggerating? Well, look at the map (Bestcountryreports.com). … Read more Wicked Leaks & TALIM: Our Own Liquidity Problem
We like the new TALIM poster, which made its debut at the AIMS booth at MESA last week in San Diego. It has a nice '30s travel touch. Yes, we do hope you visit Tangier and TALIM. You can experience the '30s – both the 1930s and the 1830s. The Legation has seen it all. … Read more Visit Tangier, Send $ to Tucson
فوضى Pronunciation: Fwḑá Definition: chaos It's one of our favorite words, a way to smile at the confusion that sometimes swirls around us. Arabic teachers searching for that perfect visual aid to illustrate the fawda that can come to inhabit life in places like Algeria could do no better than show the hilarious opening sequence … Read more Mascarades: Fawda Was Never So Much Fun
That's me in front of one of the Legation's many doors, or doors-within-gates. Only it's not in the medina of Tangier, but in DACOR Bacon House, the HQ of Diplomatic and Consular Officers, Retired. DACOR has a small but wonderful museum, open to the public. But why this massive artifact from America's oldest diplomatic establishment? … Read more Washington’s Piece of the Tangier American Legation
Vicariously, I experienced the First Regional Book Fair in Tangier through updates from TALIM's Associate Director. According to Yhtimad Bouziane (here with Tangier's new mayor Fouad El Omari and Book Fair organizer Rachid Amahjour as they visited the Legation stand), it was a great opportunity to network and do lots of outreach, while selling a … Read more Tangier is Enchanted by Diana Wylie’s Book
It's official: Lonely Planet has ranked the World's Top Ten Cities for 2011, and this city on the tip of Africa has made it to runner-up position, just after the Big Apple. Here's what they say: From its extraordinary position perched on the northwestern-most tip of Africa, Tangier looks in two directions: one face towards … Read more New York #1 – Tangier Number Two
