"A Small Nibble of North Africa" Top 5 Page for this destination Province de Tanger by hquittner

This is the only time we have been to Morocco. Our only other visit to Africa has been to Egypt, more than a decade earlier.The visit was an overnight "optional tour" offered with our 2 week stay in Torremolinos. After reaching our hotel in the outskirts of Tangier, we were fed a lunch of tagine and couscous and then taken for the afternoon to Asilah. The following morning we were bussed to the Caves of Hercules and Cape Spartel with views of the coast, before our final adventure: walking through the Grand Socco in Tangier with lunch in the Medina.(Restaurant Hammadi). 25 years earlier while on an independent tour of Andalusia we had contemplated visiting here, but were persuaded by friends to stay in Ronda instead (which was a good piece of advice).

The African coast from the ferry

The hotel was most solicitous (Hotel Ahlen) and welcoming. Next to its grounds was a large dinner- performance tent and a field with wooden spectator stands where we observed a short demonstration by native horsemen and were offered a (free) camel "ride". The other land adjacent to the hotel was poorly developed residential properties. Luckily the venture is blessed by a stork family, although I estimate that more than 1000 tourists a year pass through this experience from our agency alone.

Nesting storks bring good luck!

Our evening was spent in the spectator stands and dinner tent next to the Hotel Ahlen. The show brought back memories to me of 75-80 years ago when I was exposed yo side-shows of traveling circuses and similar venues at Coney Island at the end Brooklyn, N.Y. or vaudeville shows in many places.(As a child I did not experience state fairs and their midways). (see our Travelogue for more).

• Pros:Something different
• Cons:We were too old and timid to go alone.
• In a nutshell:Better than never going at all