Dar el-Makhzen
Two carved courtyards.
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Tangier's historic citadel on the highest point of the old town, looking out over the Strait of Gibraltar with the Spanish coast on the horizon, and for centuries the seat of power in the city. You enter through its old gates, among them Bab el-Bahr, then walk narrow lanes between white and blue houses to the Mechouar square. At its heart is Dar el-Makhzen, the palace built in the early eighteenth century under Sultan Moulay Ismail over the ruins of the English castle, as the residence of the city's governor and a home for the sultan when he visited. The palace is arranged around two courtyards with carved wooden ceilings, marble fountains and stucco decoration, with an Andalusian garden alongside. The palace has been a museum since 1922 and, since its renovation in 2016, the Kasbah Museum of Mediterranean Cultures, telling the story of Tangier and its region from prehistory through the Phoenicians and Romans to the Islamic era with manuscripts, mosaics and ceramics. On the kasbah's edge, the Borj Dar el-Baroud bastion keeps its old cannons trained on the port. Wandering the kasbah is free; the museum costs thirty dirhams for adults according to the National Museums Foundation, open from ten to six and closed on Tuesdays. A short way west is the historic Café Hafa, founded in 1921, with terraces stepping down above the sea.
Two carved courtyards.
Above the port.
Tea above the sea.
Top of the old medina, overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar, Tangier
Medina of Tangier and Petit SoccoTangier's old walled town, its white lanes tumbling from the kasbah above toward4 minutes walk
Grand Socco and Mendoubia GardensThe large square that separates Tangier's old medina from the newer town, offici5 minutes walk
Tangier American LegationA historic building in Tangier's medina that housed the American diplomatic miss6 minutes walkYes on clear days, the Spanish coast is visible across the Strait of Gibraltar from the kasbah walls and from the nearby Café Hafa.