Big Ben
Chunnel  
Colosseum
CN Tower
Eiffel Tower
Empire State
Golden Gate
Grand Canyon
Great Wall
Hoover Dam
Lng Twr Pisa
Mt. St. Michel
Mt Fuji
Niagara Falls
Pyramids
Parthenon
Petra
Statue Liberty
Stonehenge

They say that Tangier is the Tijuana of Morocco: dirty border town, and don´t forget the Moroccan mafia.  But since´s it´s only a short boat ride away from southern Spain, I catch a boat across the Mediterranean to see if it´s as bad as people say.  Overall, Tangier is not THAT bad - like Cairo.  Yeah, there are hustlers all over, but I´m used to that after Egypt.

Looking out at the Tangier port.  I´m positive George Lucas got the idea for Jawas from the jalabes the older Moroccan men wear.  There are so many hunched old men wearing brown ones with pointy hoods, it makes me feel like I´m in Tatooine.

KASBAH.  Kasbah means castle, so no, this isn´t the famous Kasbah, it´s Tangier´s kasbah.  I walk over to the Kasbah but it´s Sunday, and it´s closed and the area´s deserted.  I start to wish there were a guide to take me around the kasbah alley maze, and suddenly, this guide Monair appears, saying "I can give you a tour."  Well, it´s a bit sketchy but I say OK cause I do want a tour.  Monair leads me down the narrow streets to show me the fancy doorway of the men´s and women´s mosques, and other buildings.  Then he

Moonair gets a kick out of pretending to be a Moroccan mafia member in the rug store.  Heh heh, reeeeeal funny Moonair.

brings me to the inevitable store where I flat out ask him "What´s ýour percentage here, Monair!"  He says he´ll get something small from the owner.  Yeah, like half.  I do buy some cool Moroccan lamps and teapots that look like they might just contain a genie. 

ARRIVING at the PORT.  If you´re one of those people who always need to be the center of attention, go immediately to the Tangier port.  As you get off the boat, about 20 taxi drivers will literally surround you like paparazzi or a swarm of wasps, offering to take you into town for five times the price it should be.  Granted, Morocco´s relatively inexpensive, so even the inflated price is half of what you´d pay in the U.S.  But still.  Oh, and watch out for the people asking if you want to exchange money (may be a diversion), and the pickpockets.  I negotiate my cab fare in Arabic with a driver, using the numbers I learned how to say back in Egypt.  I knock a small but satisfying Euro off the 8€ price - wahoo!  We start to drive off, when suddenly, this random guy jumps in the back of the cab.  Fortunately, I had read about these tricks to pick up and drop off a poser passenger to inflate the cab ride, so I yell "NOT HIM!" at the driver, who says something back in Arabic in defense.  Only when I start to get out of the cab does the other guy leave, and we take off.  I tell ya, getting a cab is no holiday in Tangier.

Bus buddies on the ride down to Morocco.  That´s Ibraham from Morocco, and Luis and Lux from Mallorca, Spain.

FOOD.  Kabobs here, but add couscous, usually served under a meat sauce dish, and is moist. Not dry on the side like we serve it.  There´s also a tasty Moroccan soup and a wide variety of pastries.

After a quick walk around the city, nervously watching for hustlers and pickpockets, I really don´t feel like heading on the 10-hour train ride to Marakkesh or even the 2-hour train ride to Fez to see the real Morocco.  So I save that for another trip, and instead, catch the FAST boat (only 1.5 hours) to Gibraltar.

Cool blue door near the kasbah.

Sunday market

Another local door.

Boat buddies: That´s me, Charles from France, visiting Morocco with his parents; Rim, she does web design in Marrakesh; and Ibraham, visiting his sick mother in Tangier.  Always helps to meet locals, Ibraham and Rim give me the scoop on dos and don´ts in Morocco.

Eight of these pastries costs about a dollar - told you Morocco was relativley cheap.  That´d cost me five bucks in London.