Brief but moving ceremony on the steps of the French Consulate General in Tangier, with newly-arrived Consul General Pierre Thénard presiding. A reading of President Nicolas Sarkozy's Armistice Day message. A vin d'honneur. Very much like in every town and village in France, the monument aux morts has lots and lots of names of the … Read more 11-11-11 In Tangier: Morts Pour la France
… they saw Africa. Notes from a trip across the Strait. Well, of course they saw Africa: every primary school geography student knows that the Strait of Gibraltar (or, as they say north of the water, el Estrecho de Gibraltar) separates the continents of Europe and Africa. But Spain's Africanistas were not academic "Africanists" – … Read more What the Africanistas Saw Across El Estrecho de Gibraltar
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
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
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
Maybe the Escalier Américain or drouj merican didn't need a thorough steam cleaning for the shooting of "Goodbye Morocco," Nadir Mokneche's forthcoming film. Sometimes grungy is authentic, and if you don't have to paint on fake dirt, it's much cheaper. The Legation's medina neighborhood was the site for some location shooting this week. We've been … Read more “Goodbye Morocco” – Filming Tangier’s American Steps
The Kasbah Museum (Moroccan Ministry of Culture) partnered with Italian NGO COSPE to host a two-day seminar on Tangier's architectural and cultural heritage. A worthy effort, one that this city sorely needs, with developers greedily eyeing every square meter of available land. A parade of presenters, including a Moroccan director at the Paris Institut du … Read more Tangier – Worthy Of UNESCO Status?
First train arrives in Tangier's Charf Station, 1920s Print from Donald Angus Collection of glass negatives, No. 86 TALIM library, Tangier American Legation Yesterday's ceremony to mark the start of construction of Africa's newest TGV or high speed train line brought French President Nicolas Sarkozy and King Mohammed VI to Tangier. As a relatively frequent … Read more Tangier Inaugurations: From Steam Train to TGV
Louis Armstrong and Lillian Boutté. For a long time, they were New Orleans' only "Musical Ambassadors," though some other jazz greats have since joined their ranks. So Tangier was honored to have Lillian Boutté & The Gigolos for the latest edition of Tanjazz, an annual festival that attracts a wide audience of Tanjawis and visitors … Read more Tanjazz and New Orleans’ Musical Ambassador
Thanks to a kind member of the TALIM board, I've been alerted to an exhibit in Washington's National Gallery of Art, "The Invention of Glory." Subtitled "Alfonso V and the Pastrana Tapestries," the exhibit features "The Conquest of Tangier." The exhibit is open through January 8, 2012. Today's Washington Post, in an article by culture … Read more Portugal, Morocco, and the Price of Glory
