Last Sunday's demonstrations in several Moroccan cities, Tangier included, went smoothly. The protest marches themselves, that is – not the immediate aftermath. In a region marked by violent government repression of civil protest, no less a critical observer than Human Rights Watch lauded the Moroccan authorities for their restraint: "Morocco's calm response to protests today … Read more Thanks For Your Concern, But We’re Planting Trees
Today, Presidents Day in the United States, is a nice hook to link a succession of American Presidents – from George Washington to Barack Obama – to Morocco, and, by extension, to the American Legation in Tangier, home of TALIM. Of all American Presidents who have interacted with their Moroccan counterparts, it is probably George … Read more American Presidents, Morocco, and the Legation in Tangier
You know that Tangier is extremely humid, even when it's not raining. You also know that the historic American Legation building is stone, cement, plaster, and concrete, materials in use in our 18th through 20th century buildings. And that these walls are soaking wet (so says our new moisture meter). So who's worried about fire … Read more In Case of Fire, Pray to St. Florian
190 years ago, in 1821, Morocco's Sultan Moulay Slimane (the French transliteration tends to be used, vice the more familiar to Anglophones "Suleiman") gave the original building of the Tangier Legation to the United States. Now, 190 doesn't have quite the same ring as 200, but this is notice to those who care about such … Read more 1821: Sultan Moulay Slimane Gives Tangier Legation to U.S.
Twenty years ago, in the magical Belgian film Toto le héros, we saw a glimpse of the future: walking down the street, you're confronted with wiring, plumbing, and tubing coming out of the most unexpected places. It's the Centre Pompidou effect, but without the discipline. I've seen the future, and it's here in the medina. … Read more Wired, Wireless, Haywire: Legation’s Trimlines Get Sidelined
Does TALIM pass the SAT* test? *SAT stands for Save America's Treasures, a US National Park Service program which, according to the NPS, "is one of the largest and most successful grant programs for the protection of our nation’s endangered and irreplaceable cultural heritage." TALIM Board members, Fellows, Friends of the Legation, interested citizens, and … Read more Save America’s Treasured Legation
I like to call it the "poor box." It's the wooden box screwed to our door, with the hope that visitors to the museum will be moved to leave a token of their appreciation. Good thing tokens don't exist anymore. Or else we'd get them, along with wooden nickels, and other useless objects. Somebody once … Read more Legation Fund Raising: Insert Money Here
It was a year ago, January 2010, that a team from the U.S. measured, photographed, profiled, and documented the multitudinous problems that haunt our historic structure. Visible to the layman are problems of water absorption and saturation, cracking, settlement, mold. To the experts who came to Tangier one year ago, these problems – and more … Read more An Historic Structure: Report Eagerly Awaited
Note to readers: December is a time when many people suffer from S.A.D., Seasonal Affective Disorder, or the winter blues. I may have identified a variant, peculiar to this corner of North Africa, called L.E.D. or Legation Enchantment Disorder. It's not quite disenchantment, but it is a bummer. This "December Report" is in the format … Read more December Diary: The Enchantment Is Elusive
Number of US National Historic Landmarks: fewer than 2,500 Number located outside the United States: 1 Location: Tangier, Morocco Name: American Legation (TALIM) – – – – – – – We are proud of our designation as the only US National Historic Landmark located outside the United States. So it was only natural that we … Read more National Historic Landmark: Shining the Legation’s Plaque
