The Medinas in the Medina

Tangier, Morocco and Northern Africa is only a short trip away from Southern Spain and as we had a number of days available to us we decided that the time to explore not only our first African nation but also our first Arab nation. 

In planning this trip, we had initially planned to travel to the town of Tarifa in Southern Spain, which is the where the ferry to Tangier departs from. This would have involved a drive to Tarifa (just under 2 hours), a parking location and possibly an overnight in Tarifa depending on the time of the ferry which would take 30-40 to arrive in Tangier. However, we soon found out that there is a Ryanair flight that leaves Malaga and only takes about 30 minutes to arrive, and as the flight was cheaper than the ferry along (not to mention petrol and parking fees) we decided to take the flight to Tangier. 

After a very short flight, where it felt that we had just reached cruising altitude before we commenced our descent, we landed at at the Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport. After passing immigration (where I got asked a lot of questions about what I do for work etc) we walked to the exit where we were met by our taxi driver, Abdul. Prior to our trip, I was provided with a WhatsApp number to a local taxi driver and a few text messages back and forth (in Spanish) later we had arranged for him to meet us at the airport, transport us to our accomodation  and drive us the following day to explore Tangier and surroundings. All this was covered by a reasonable price of €120 and it proved to be very convenient to have your own taxi driver at hand at all times.

We were soon dropped off in the Medina, just outside the Palais Zahia, a beautiful Moroccan hotel where after arrival we were provided a warm welcome with a tea ceremony. 

Our first stop after leaving the hotel was to explore the Tangier Medina (a term used to describe the historical or old town of a city) which is a maze of narrow streets filled with markets and historical sights. As we were walking along the Medina, we did get slightly lost (which was expected but I did have Google Maps and knew the general direction that we had to walk towards) at which point a local young male approached us, told us that he was studying English and started to guide us through the area, showing us some of the sights. Both Suz and I looked at each other whilst we were walking along and we knew that he would be expecting a fee for this. And yes, even though we tried walking away from him he still stayed with us and when we returned to the hotel we was asking for 400 Dirham which I told him was too much and ended up giving him 100 Dirham for the trouble (about €10).

Anyway, after saying goodbye to our “guide” we sat down at the Gran Café Central, had a coffee and snack and later continued by ourselves and walked to the Bab Al Bahr, a historical gate that provided great views over the marina and the ocean.

That evening, we enjoyed a dinner which featured local dishes of both both Lamb and Chicken Tagine. After our dinner we returned to our hotel where I enjoyed a hammam experience at the hotel’s bathhouse. The hammam was filled with hot steam, and I underwent a thorough cleansing, scrubbing, and exfoliation process that left me feeling clean, relaxed and ended up being a great way to finish the day.

The next morning we had a late start, had our breakfast and went for another walk around the Medina before it was time to continue our adventure with Abdul who came to collect us at the hotel. He drove us around a few viewpoints around Tangier and through the city centre before we left the city and headed towards the coast where we  visited Cap Spartel with its iconic lighthouse. The area also offers beautiful views of the meeting point of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Our trip continued south along the coast, past Achakkar Beach where both Xander and Eloise got to ride on camels, before we continued to the Hercules Caves (which besides from the cave entrance that faces the sea, felt mostly man made and not really a must see).

Our journey continued south the charming sea town of Asilah where after sitting down and enjoying a cold drink (found my first beer in Morocco here) we explored the town’s Medina with its white washed walls and colourful murals. Here Suz managed to find a hammam for women (they are always segregated) and whilst she took part of the experience, Xander, Eloise and I wandered and continued to explore the Medina. 

We finished our day at Asilah with an early dinner (with a fish tagine this time) before we started the drive back to the airport where we waited to board our flight back to Spain. 

It was a short trip but we managed to fill both days with some great experiences with the local food, the hammams, the bustling Tangier Medina, the beauty of the ocean and the calm Medina of Asilah. We enjoyed our initial experience of North Africa and would love to come back to explore it further.