I travelled to Tangiers this weekend by bus. My journey followed a feverish Thursday night and an achy Friday. However, I arrived safe and sound to enjoy some lovely Lebanese food Friday night. We chatted with the Saudi man who served our food, surprised to be at a place that preferred English over French. However, not one to be easily served our food, we attempted conversing in Arabic with the waiter in the end. I have decided I thoroughly enjoy Lebanese food, savored the falafel and hummus, and will be frequenting several different Lebanese restaurants when I return to the States.
Later that night we wandered the city, ending up in the Kasbah (the walled fortress of the old city)We wandered the streets and were struck by the emptiness of where we found ourselves. I felt as if I were in a different world, traveling the still streets of an ancient mystery. We crouched down to enter a little hole in a wall and found ourselves overlooking the ocean and port. It was a startlingly peaceful and beautiful night.
Saturday consisted of visiting the lighthouse that separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea. We took a taxi ride to the lighthouse which was filled with dance club music and a delightful taxi driver. He wore a muscle shirt and pumped his fist as we cruised the coast. One of the girls I was traveling with commented that she wasn't sure if she was in Morocco or back to her home on the Jersey Shore. At the lighthouse, a sign told us that entrance was forbidden. The gate was open and unmanned, so I walked in with one of my friends. A guy yelled at us that we were crazy for just walking in, but then brought us up anyway. Evidently he lived in the lighthouse and so brought us to the top where we enjoyed the wonderful view. I stood seeing the oceans before me, imagining the invisible line that divides them on the maps.
After the lighthouse, we continued our dance party/ taxi ride to the cave of Herules. Inside the cave was an opening that looked like the shape of Africa. The water shown through in the brightest blue like a painting. I felt closer to Africa as I was farthest north then I have been the whole trip. Pretty zween.
That afternoon, after more Lebanese food on the beach, we went to Caid's Piano Bar, evidently the original inspiration for Rick's Cafe from the movie Casablanca. Evidently Tangier is much closer to the glamor and intrigue of Casablanca then the city of Casablanca actually is. Casa is an industrial city, without much character. Tangier has a flavor, history, and culture of its own. While at Caid's, we met an American woman who had an arranged marriage with a Moroccan man after she converted to Islam. She married into an extremely conservative family and is attempting to live with her husband in Morocco now. It sounded as if she was having a tough time adjusting to this "adventure" as she called it, referring to her new marriage and direction her life has turned. I can't imagine embarking on an unknown adventure for a marriage, not knowing the guy, his family, the country, or the religion.
We left her, promising to write, and continued on our way, weaving through Tangier, ending up at St. Andrews church. This is an Anglican church built to be a church yet by Muslim builders. They carved inscriptions of the Coran inside the church, creating a mosque like feel inside this white church. It even had a minaret, in replace of a steeple. The outside is a church cemetery, containing World War II deaths, whole regiments buried together. They had such loving inscriptions, one of them said "meeting again when dawn breaks". On another note, one fallen soldier had the inscription, "Good Hunting, Tim." I love you and miss you all!! I have about 2 1/2 weeks here still. Pray for my health and my life for the Lord here!
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