2024 in Morocco (Tangier)
On September 3, 2024, the Celebrity Equinox had a port of call in Tangier, Morocco, resulting in my 33rd unique country. I had especially gone on this cruise to set foot in Africa!
This made it my:
- 1st time and country in Africa
- 1st country with Arabic as its official language
- 2nd time in a Muslim-majority country
- after Bosnia (2022)
- 1st time in a mostly desert country
- 2nd time seeing a desert landscape
- after USA (2012)
Visit
As it seemed difficult to explore around on own, I had booked an excursion via the cruise line to visit some key places, including:
- Cape Spartel (where the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean meet)
- Cave of Hercules (a cave with an opening overlooking the Atlantic)
- Kasbah (the fortress)
- Souk (the marketplace)
- Hotel Continental (a cafe)
While in the marketplace district, I ran into some inscriptions in a Tamazight (Berber) language, whose script looked straight out of a sci-fi movie.
The tour offered us some tea and cookies at the café at Hotel Continental. As with every part of the excursion, it felt too much of a fast-paced whirlwind. As always, I felt like we could have used a few more minutes at each place.
In the end, I got to experience a "call to prayer" but instead of going to prayer, we were herded back onto the bus to go back to the ship.
Reflection
I felt relatively impressed with this part of Morocco. The tour guide explained how their country was self-reliant on food. The landscapes, combining arid and aquatic, were impressive to see on the bus ride outside Tangier.
I don't know if spending more time in Morocco would have resulted in diminishing returns. However, in the short time of my visit there, I did not leave disappointed. Incidentally, my first time in Africa wasn't that bad.