Nov 21 - Tangier

Today was another rainy day.  We started out towards the coast, stopping at Cape Spartel where there are views of the coast and of Spain (when the weather is fine, which it isn’t today).  We did all dutifully get off and walked to the plaza overlooking the ocean.  You could maybe almost see a dark haze along the horizon that might have been Spain, hard to tell.

We then took a short drive down the coast to an overlook that pointed to where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea. 

This was followed by a visit to the Cave of Hercules right along the coast.  

In mythology it was and believed to be his home.  There was a small grotto with a waterfall…

and a larger cave that opened out onto the ocean.

From there it was a back drive into town to a Jewish Cemetery.  It was no longer in use and certainly showed it’s age.  But it was very interesting.

Next was a walk through a warren of streets to a Jewish Synagogue that turned out to be closed.  So we walked to another one that was nearby.  This one, Moshe Nahan, was open and we very much enjoyed it.  It was beautiful inside.  

The woman who cared for the two synagogues said that there was something like 400+ synagogues in the area and that they were used by the 20,000+ Jews that used to live in the area.  The number of Jews that now live in the area is only about 40 so almost none of the synagogues were being used.  They also had the key to the other synagogue so we headed over there to see it.  It was much smaller and not nearly as opulent.

It was still pretty drippy so we stopped to get Tara an umbrella (she had left hers at home) and a camera memory card for one of our other travelers.  While this was going on a number of us did some window shopping nearby…

and then headed out to explore.  We found an awesome market that featured produce,

butchers (with all manner of cow parts displayed for sale),

a fish market,

and many other shops.

The group then demanded a change in the schedule and wanted an early lunch, with the hopes that the weather would clear while we were eating.  After a great lunch the Weather Gods cooperated and the rains had stopped by the time we got to the Makhazen Kasbah. 

We first walked to a plaza with views of Spain and the harbor below.

After a bit of a skirmish amongst some locals we picked up two local “guards”.  One had obviously been trying to sell umbrellas but decided that escorting a tour group was better business.  Tara indicated that it was useful to let them tag along as guards and escorts as it kept others from hassling the group.  And they turned out to be very helpful in leading the way and helping corral our group that kept getting strung out.

The kasbah was full of narrow, blue alleyways...

with shops tucked into pocket sized rooms.

and children enjoying themselves.

There were a number of really awesome doors to be seen along the alleyways...

including this door to a house that was once the home of French painter Henri Matisse, a famous artist.

Mohammed, our guide, specifically pointed out this building as being one that Matisse had painted.

We stopped at a museum but it was closed.  The sign on the door was in three languages, Arabic, French and Berber (the language of the original inhabitants of Morocco).

Near the end of the day we walked through some newer neighborhoods...

and we ended up at a café high on a hill with great views overlooking the Straits of Gibraltar.  

The day had cleared enough that we had great views of Spain...

and Portugal.  

Unfortunately, Gibraltar was around the corner so we couldn’t see it.

We caught our bus back to the hotel and had a couple of hours to wind down and dry off before heading down hill to dinner.  The little restaurant had great authentic Moroccan food and a small group of musicians playing for us.  It was a lovely way to end the day.