Gates around Tangier Old Medina

Another City Gate at Tangier Old Medina

Another City Gate at Tangier Old Medina

I think what is amazing about these big cities in Morocco is that fact that most of them have been here for a long time. In the case of Tangier, there were records of it being in existence since the tenth century BC. It has been the target of several occupiers owing to its excellent location at the mouth of the Mediterranean as well as its proximity to Europe. As a result, Tangier has seen several cultures come and go over the centuries. This has left various cultural imprints which can be seen up to this day. One of the most tangible heritages is the city walls.

Old City Gate at Tangier Old Medina

Old City Gate at Tangier Old Medina

Because Tangier would be constantly under seige, walls have been erected around the medina. This is common practice back when when most cities were self contained communities. While I didn’t get to see too much of the city walls of Tangier, you can still see parts of them. There are also gates which allow people get in the medina. They don’t seem to be as grand as the ones found in other cities but they are still gates nonetheless. Going through the gates seems like it transports you through time as what greets you is a totally different world. The sights, sounds and the smells of the old medina would overcome you and you just want to see what they have here.

[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/TangierOldMedina.kmz} zoom=19]