Tangier

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Tangier

This article is about the Moroccan city.

For the town called Tangier Island, see Tangier, Virginia

''For the US Navy ship, see USS Tangier (AV-8)

For the indie rock band, see Tangiers (band)

For the disease, see Tangier disease

Tangier or Tangiers (Tanja طنچة in Berber and Arabic, Tánger in Spanish, and Tanger in French), is a city of northern Morocco with a population of 669,685 (2004 census). It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cap Spartel. It is the capital of the Tangier-Tétouan Region.

History

Tingis, now Tangier, is an ancient Phoenician town. Ancient coins call it Tenga, Tinga, and Titga, the Greek and Latin authors giving numerous variations of the name. According to Berber mythology, Tangier was built by the son of Tinjis, named Sufax. Tinjis was the wife of the Berber hero Antaios. There are other versions of Tangiers founding - Greek legend ascribes its foundation to the giant Antaeus, whose tomb and skeleton are pointed out in the vicinity, or to Sophax, son of Hercules by the widow of Antaeus. The cave or grotto of Hercules is only a few miles from the city. This cave is a major tourist attraction because of its association with Greek mythology. It is believed that Hercules slept there before attempting one of his 12 labours.

Tangier was an important city for the Berbers, and still is inhabited by Berbers and Arabs, and the city's name may be derived from the Berber goddess Tinjis (or Tinga). Founded by Carthaginian colonists in the early 5th century BC. The commercial town of Tingis came under Roman rule first, a free city and then, under Augustus, a colony (Colonia Julia, under Claudius), capital of Mauritania Tingitana of Hispania. In the 5th century Vandals conquered and occupied "Tingi" and from here swept across North Africa.

A century later (between 534 and 682), Tangier became part of the Byzantine empire and later on came under Arab control in 702.

It was held by the Portuguese from 1471-1580, to Unification with Spain 1580-1640, Portugal again, 1640-1661, when, in 1661, it was given to Charles II Stuart as part of the dowry from the Portuguese Infanta Catherine of Braganza and received the British Garrison. The English granted Tangier a charter which made the city equal to English towns. In 1679, Sultan Moulay Ismail of Morocco made an unsuccessful attempt to seize the town and maintained a crippling blockade which ultimately led to a British retreat. The British destroyed the town and its port facilities prior to their departure in 1684.

Under Moulay Ismail the city was reconstructed to some extent but the city gradually declined until by 1810 the population was no more than 5,000.

In 1821, the Legation Building in Tangier became the first piece of property acquired abroad by the U.S. government; a gift to the U.S. from Sultan Moulay Suliman. It was bombarded by the French Prince de Joinville in 1844.

Tangier's geographical location made it a centre for European diplomatic and commercial activity in Morocco in the late 19th century and early 20th century centuries. It was here that the German Kaiser Wilhelm II's pronouncement in favour of Morocco's continued independence triggered an international crisis in 1905.

In the early 20th century it had about 40,000 inhabitants, of whom half were Muslims, 10,000 Jews, 9,000 Europeans (of whom 7,500 were Spanish). In 1912, Morocco was effectively partitioned between France and Spain, the latter occupying the country's far north (called Spanish Morocco) and a part of Moroccan territory in the south along the Atlantic coast that was called Spanish Morocco or Rio de Oro until 1976. Tangier was made an international zone in 1923 under the joint administration of France, Spain, and Britain. (Italy joined in 1928).

After a period of effective Spanish control from 1940 to 1945 during World War II, Tangier was reunited with the rest of Morocco following the country's independence in 1956.

Ecclesiastical history

Tangier is a Roman Catholic titular see of former Mauretania Tingitana (the official list of the Roman Curia places it in Mauretania Caesarea). Towards the end of the third century Tangier was the scene of the martyrdom of St. Marcellus, mentioned in the Roman Martyrology on 30 October, and of St. Cassian, mentioned on 3 December. It is not known whether it was a diocese in ancient times. Under the Portuguese domination it was a suffragan of Lisbon, and in 1570 was united to the diocese of Ceuta. Six of its bishops are known, the first, who did not reside in his see, in 1468. In the protectorate era of Morocco Tangier was the residence of the prefect Apostolic of Morocco, which mission was in charge of the Friars Minor. It had a Catholic church, several chapels, schools, and a hospital.

Culture

The multicultural placement of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities and the foreign immigrants attracted artists like Paul Bowles, William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Tennessee Williams, Brion Gysin and the Rolling Stones, who all lived in or visited Tangier.

It was after Delacroix that Tangier became an obligatory stop for artists seeking to experience the colors and light he spoke of for themselves - with varying results. Matisse made several sojourns in Tangier, always staying at the Hotel Villa de France. You can still visit his room where he painted the view out the window. "I have found landscapes in Morocco," he claimed, "exactly as they are described in Delacroix's paintings." The Californian artist Richard Diebenkorn was directly influenced by the haunting colors and rhythmic patterns of Matisse’s Morocco paintings.

Tangier also knew the rise of native authors such as Mohamed Choukri who is considered as one of North Africa's most controversial and widely read authors. Paul Bowles collaborated closely with Choukri on the translation and wrote the introduction for Choukri's autobiography For Bread Alone, described by Tennessee Williams as 'A true document of human desperation, shattering in its impact.'

In the forties and fifties, when the city was an International Zone, and apart from the artists, it served as a playground for eccentric millionaires, a meeting place for secret agents and all kinds of crooks, a Mecca for speculators and gamblers, an Eldorado for the fun-loving "Haute Volée".

William S. Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch in Tangier in the 1950s and the book's locale of Interzone is an allusion to the city.

As a great collector of lead soldiers, the American billionaire and publisher of Forbes magazine Malcolm Forbes brought together a total of 115,000 models to what is now called the Forbes Museum of Tangier. These figures re-enact the major battles of history; from Waterloo to Dien Bien Phû, realistically recreated with lighting and sound effects. Entire armies stand on guard in the showcases, while in the garden, 600 statuettes bear silent homage to the Battle of Three Kings.

Education

Tangier offers five different types of educational systems: Moroccan, American, French, Spanish and English. Each of these systems offer classes starting from Pre-K up to the 12th Grade, Baccalaureat, or High School Diploma.

Primary Education

There are more than a dozen Moroccan primary schools, each dispersed randomly in the city. International Primary Institutions:

The American School of Tangier

Ecole Adrien Berchet

Colegio Ramon y Cajal

English College of Tangier

International High Schools:

The American School of Tangier

Lycée Regnault (French High School)

Instituto Cervantes de Tanger (Spanish High School)

English College of Tangier

Many universities are located both inside and outside the city. Universities like the Institut Superieur Internationale de Tourisme (ISIT), which is a school that offers diplomas in various departments, going from business administration to hotel management, is among one of the most prestigious tourism university in the country. Other colleges such as the Ecole Nationale de Commerce et de Gestion (ENCG) is among the biggest business schools in the country.

Events

Tanjazz - An annual international Jazz festival.
Festival National du Film - An annual Moroccan film festival (8th edition in 2006).
Le Festival International de Théâtre Amateur - An international amateur theater festival.

Landmarks

Town twinning

Faro, Portugal (since 1954)

Sources and external links

History of Tangier and The American legation in Tangier
The Authorized Paul Bowles Web Site Official site for writer and composer Paul Bowles, who lived 52 years in Tangier.
Tangier free zone website
Jewish history in Tangier
Tanjazz: Tangier's Jazz Festival
Entry in Lexicorient
Tangier at the Magic Morocco
The American School of Tangier

Maps

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