Non-French TidbitsTanger Morocco

By Jim and Emmy Humberd

As happens so many times, Tanger (as spelled on the Michelin map) is spelled Tangier, and Tangiers in other places. We checked into a quite suitable hotel, took a hot shower, and ventured into a couple of stores in the neighborhood. The hotel room contained two small beds, a shower and toilet, and it had thin indoor/outdoor type carpet on the floor. Dinner, and breakfast the next morning, were included in the price.

The next morning, after a continental breakfast, we found ourselves with a private guide, car and driver for a tour of Tanger. We stopped near a palace where there were several musicians performing and looking for a tip. We offered them a tip, "… practice, practice, practice." We were led through a series of interesting narrow, covered walkways in the Kasbar, through passageways and past markets and homes. The 2 1/2 hour walk through the narrow streets of Tangiers was astounding.

In one steep narrow passageway two women had spread a small dirty rag on the pavement and displayed a few pieces of green vegetable for sale. Two donkeys, carrying buckets of redi-mix cement for a Tanger construction job, appeared. As they passed, a donkey peed and pottied, and some splashed on the food, but no one seemed to notice. At times like this, words fail us. How do we describe this, when we haven't read anything else that describes it properly.

Bakeries in Tanger sell heat as well as baked goods. Once they have the oven heated, they might as well make use of the heat. We would see little children taking un-baked dough to the bakery, and baked bread home with them. We saw little old Berber women carrying huge loads of wood, more like twigs, to supply fuel to bakeries and other places in Tanger.

We bought a four by six feet Berber rug made of lambs wool and trimmed with camel hair. It has a government label so the tourist can be sure of getting what they think they are getting. We also bought two "very used" round brass trays (18 inches in diameter), trimmed in copper, brass, and nickel perhaps.

Books by Jim and Emmy Humberd:
Invitation to France
Invitation to Germany
Invitation to Italy

French Video Immersion