After WWII, Tangier became an International Zone that attracted eccentric foreigners, artists,
spies and hippies. The city fell into neglect and dissolution, gaining a dismal reputation thanks to
the sleaze and hustles that beset every arrival. But now the white city has turned over a new
leaf, and is looking to the future with renewed vigour.
With the arrival of the new monarch in 1999 and his forward-thinking ideas about commerce
and tourism, suddenly the community woke up to the potential of this great city. There’s a
spanking new port of enormous proportions, a new business district and a revamped airport.
Buildings have been renovated, beaches cleaned up, hustlers chivvied off the streets, there’s an
explosion of cultural activities and now some great places to stay and excellent restaurants.
Tangier is divided into an old walled city, or medina, a nest of medieval alleyways, and a new,
modern city, the ville nouvelle. The medina contains a kasbah, the walled fortress of the sultan,
which forms its western corner; the Petit Socco (also known as Socco Chico, and officially as
Pl Souq ad-Dakhil), an historic plaza in the centre; and of course, the souqs, or markets. The
much more impressive Grand Socco (officially renamed Pl du 9 Avril 1947), a pleasant square
with a central fountain, is the hinge between the two sides of town, and the postcard entrance
to the medina.