Where the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean meet lies Tangier, a Moroccan city steeped in a rich and exotic history. Ruled through the centuries by waves of conquerors including the Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs and Portuguese; the city is more than two and a half millennia old, making it one of North Africa’s most ancient cities.
Tangier has proven to be a very attractive destination for gypset travel. Gypsetters will find themselves rubbing elbows with European and American diplomats, international hippies, beatniks and writers (both famous, and infamous), all of whom have traveled to this strikingly unique location for centuries. Of the notables are the American playwright Tennessee Williams, Mark Twain, Eugène Delacroix Paul Bowles, Truman Capote, William S Burroughs, Allen Ginsburg, Jack Kerouac, Jean Genet and Henri Matisse.
With its wild beauty, its jumbled history, its tangle of influences, and its peculiar former status as an international zone; Tangier offers expatriates the promise of adventure and reflection. In the 1960s, the beatniks, hippies, and aspiring artists flocked to the country, many of them drawn to Morocco after reading about the expatriate lifestyle in Paul Bowles’ fiction and in William Burroughs’ Naked Lunch. They were seeking the dangerous adventures depicted in popular fiction–only to find a city with little interest in satisfying their cravings. Tangier is also a sleepy, sea-swept city suffused in orange light– a quiet place to live and work. The city is known for its breathtaking sunsets, which only add to its allure and mystery.
Whether you are a nouveau hippie looking to explore and expand your knowledge and understanding, a writer searching for inspiration, an adventure traveler, sun worshiper, or artist, one thing remains true– Tangier provide an experience like no other for every gypsetter.
