Fountain and palms
The square's heart.
Shbbkr — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Shbbkr — CC BY-SA 4.0 · YoTuT from United States — CC BY 2.0 · Hedwig Storch — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Andrei Dimofte from Stuttgart, Germany — CC BY 2.0 · Boubloub — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Boubloub — CC BY-SA 4.0 · KJP1 — CC BY-SA 4.0
The large square that separates Tangier's old medina from the newer town, officially named Place du 9 Avril 1947 after the historic speech Sultan Mohammed V gave in Tangier that day calling for Morocco's independence and unity. Socco is a Spanish corruption of souk. At its centre is a large marble fountain surrounded by palms, small gardens and benches, and around it stand a mosque, cafés, simple restaurants and the historic Cinema Rif, home of the Cinémathèque de Tanger; from here visitors enter the medina through Bab Fahs. On one side are the Mendoubia Gardens, once the seat of the Mendoub, the sultan's representative during the international zone, with old trees and antique cannons. Nearby stands St Andrew's Anglican Church, consecrated in 1905 in Moroccan style with a bell tower shaped like a minaret and the Lord's Prayer inscribed in Arabic. The square is open and free and busy in the evening. It is the usual starting point for a walk through the medina and the kasbah.
The square's heart.
Old trees and cannons.
A minaret-like tower.
Place du 9 Avril 1947, entrance to the old medina, Tangier
Tangier American LegationA historic building in Tangier's medina that housed the American diplomatic miss3 minutes walk
Medina of Tangier and Petit SoccoTangier's old walled town, its white lanes tumbling from the kasbah above toward3 minutes walk
Kasbah of Tangier and Kasbah MuseumTangier's historic citadel on the highest point of the old town, looking out ove5 minutes walkIt commemorates Sultan Mohammed V's speech in Tangier on 9 April 1947, in which he affirmed Morocco's unity and its hope for independence.