TRAVEL
M OROCCO
TEXT Andrew Forbes
Discovering
Northern
Morocco
‘From Beatniks to Berbers’
The bohemian port city of Tangier and the nearby aquamarine mountain village of Chefchaouen capture the magic and mystery of authentic North African culture and cuisine.
The vintage cream Mercedes ‘Grand Taxi’ idles up the steep, narrow lane from the port towards the Medina.
This short journey is an intoxicating experience. Passing crumbling fin-de-siècle colonial mansions and alluring Arab archways, the smells, sights and sounds swiftly plunge you into this city’s gregarious, noisy and frantic way of life.
This is Tangier, famous for being an International Zone in the first half of the twentieth century whilst Spain, Britain and France jostled for diplomatic and political superiority here. This bohemian city became home to spies, artists and writers of the Beat generation. William Burroughs and Truman Capote were at the centre of a creative community that also attracted Francis Bacon, Joe Orton and the US writer Paul Bowles.
Medieval Medina Arriving in the Medina, one is immersed in a
world where modern life collides with medieval architecture; where Europe, Africa and Arabia blend to deliver an exhilarating, unique experience.
Although the enchanting and spellbinding qualities of Morocco’s Imperial Cities are worldfamous, over recent years they have become more and more commercialised. This has led to cities like Tangier experiencing a genuine creative and commercial renaissance as people search for the authentic Morocco, leaving behind westernised Marrakesh.
Where once only humble Maison d’hôte offered accommodation, there are now upscale luxury boutique hotels in the old town. Stay at the ‘Nord Pinus Tanger’, owned and styled by Anne Igou, of the original Nord Pinus in the South of France.
Anne has a wonderful aesthetic, a creative eye that allows her to find interesting and unique pieces and furniture that sit wonderfully together, creating a seductive ambiance.