Tangier is perhaps the oldest city in Morocco. By 1600 before Phoenicians settled a colony. Roman mythology links the city of Tangier at the Greek giant Antaeus, son of Poseidon, god of the sea goddess of the earth. During a fight, Hercules killing Antaeus Wife Tingis, the giant, who gives him a son, Sophax.
Then Hercules separates Spain from Africa and donated to his son Sophax protected by the sea. Became king appoints his city Sophax Tingis.
Tangier has always occupied a strategic position because of its grip Strait of Gibraltar. The Roman Empire, which controls the capital city until its provinces of North Africa. In 706, Arab monopolize that it becomes the heart of the conflict between the Berber tribes and dynasties until the late thirteenth century.
From the 1300s, Tangier plays an important role in Mediterranean trade.
In 1437, the Portuguese conquered Tangier before being reoccupied by 1471 In 1578 it came under Spanish rule and becomes Portuguese.
During her union with Charles II of England in 1661, the Portuguese Catherine of Braganza dowry Tangiers. After expelling religious orders and Jewish community, the British withdrew from the city in 1684, having previously destroyed the kasbah.
Therefore, Sultan Moulay Ismail of the Alawite dynasty began rebuilding the city. In 1800, Tangier became an international city with all the consuls of the major Western nations: England, Spain, Belgium, Holland, United States, Portugal, Soviet Union, France, and Italy .. In 1923, the city has become an international zone.
In 1947, Tanger hosts first speech of Sultan Mohammed V prelude to the unification of Morocco and its independence in 1956 Aujourd.hui yet, Tanger continues to fascinate. The city Strait has inspired many global celebrities:
painters, musicians, writers, poets, filmmakers, actors, billionaires. such Delacroix, Saint-Saëns, Pierre Loti, Matisse, Van Dongen, Tenessee Williams, Paul Morand, Jean Genet, William Burroughs, Paul Bowles, Malcolm Forbes.
