Tangier, Morocco

This, like the other two Moroccan ports, was new for us and it was a walking day.

The sail-in revealed a walled white city and we would walk much of it.

A large, modern ferry terminal has two different buildings with interesting decorative details.

 
This travelers' mosque was on the same plaza as the ferry terminal.

The fortifications protect the front point of the old city, which rises up behind the fort.

Upon closer inspection, the fortifications are built right into the stone cliffs there.

We followed this road up into the city. It was early and we were first off the ship, which allowed us some time to take wonderful photos of the city before it was overrun with tourists from our ship and another smaller one that was in port with us.

Looking back from that slanting road.

 
We walked through the arch and inside the city walls.

 
We took photos of many of the arched doorways. Ones that curve in like this are called horseshoe arches. Some are fairly plain like this one, but many are quite ornate.

 
Even if the doorways are not arched, arches are painted or tiled around them.

We saw this mosque minaret on the hill during the sail in that morning.

A bird whisperer...

... but a wandering dog interrupted the moment.

We went further up the hill.

Our ship in the distance...

There's an untended graveyard in a wooded area at the top of the hill.

Across the road from the wooded graveyard was a row of vendor sheds.

We went for a closer view.

 
Rams' horns for sale and lots of junk in the sheds.

 
This area on the other side of the hill is a more modern section of the city.

 
A church seems somewhat out of place in this 99% Muslim country..

 
And yet another mosque.

We were in the market area again. When we stopped by here earlier in the morning, it wasn't open yet.

Olives!

 
Not sure if the red lighting is to make the meat look better.

 
These two guys had three hot round metal surfaces. The first guy had a wad of dough that he repeatedly tapped onto the hot surface so that a thin layer of dough covered the surface. About thirty seconds later the other guy began peeling the paper-thin dough off with his bare hands. The round of partially cooked dough was then added to an 8-inch tall pile of these rounds of dough and some oil was sprayed on its surface. By then it was time to peel off the next round.

 
We continued walking, but up some different pathways.

 
This guy insisted that we go into his shop even though we told him we were not going to purchase anything.

The carpet collection was on the second floor. It was interesting, but we were true to our word and did not buy anything.

 
The alleyways in this section were a bit wider so restaurants had room for sidewalk seating.

An overlook from the top of the fort walls.

We dove back into the alleyways.

In some places there were collections of whimsical art displayed on the walls...

...or strung up over the alleyways.

We climbed up the stairs. The smooth area in the center of the alleyway was for carts, bikes, and motorbikes.

The city walls.

And the actual fortification...

 
Some of our shipmates were out on this overlook as part of their tours, and merchants had brought their wares to sell to them.

Oh look, you can see our ship from here.

 
We decided that we would walk out to the cliffs behind Dean's shoulder, so off we went to yet another part of the city.

 
Worm sorting was not something we'd seen before.

...more painted arches.

A classic old hotel sits at that high point of land where the cliffs are.

The walkway out to those cliffs next to the hotel is lined with old pillars.

The surprising find out on the top of the rocky cliff was that rectangular holes had been carved out of the rock and had been used as graves during the second and third centuries when the Romans occupied this territory.

We thought there would be a path down to the waterfront from the cliffs, but no, so we walked along the edge of the city to find the path down to the paved pathway shown here.

 
In an old city, the repairs are endless and apparently the work is done using traditional tools and materials.

After a couple of dead-end alleys, we finally found the stairs to the waterfront.

 
There is housing along the front of the cliff that faces the ocean and that is outside of the city wall. There was a lone sheep tethered by a hind leg that was keeping the grass sheared.

And so we bid Tangier a fond farewell as we headed to the ship. What a picturesque city! We'd walked more than ten miles. It was time for some hot showers and to put our feet up, because the next day was our only port inside the Mediterranean Sea, Málaga, Spain.