|
|
|
|
another remnant of the Spanish presence in Northern Morocco) in May-- just as the weather was warming up, but not tourist temperature yet. My "English Channel" blood could not resist a swim in the Mediterranean's cool waters. Up the coast, a few miles North of Tetouan, the port of Mdiq seems to have retained a bit more of its past: an active fishing community with boats of all sizes and repairmen to keep the fleet alive.
|
Today,
Tetouan is a beach resort, attracting vacationers of all sorts, Moroccans
and foreigners alike. Martil, Tetouan's closest port and once den of ruthless
Moroccan corsairs is now one endless stretch of white sand, and a boardwalk,
replete with shop stalls, vacation homes and parasols. In the winter months,
the town has a bit of a ghostly feel, but one can still sense the crowds
it hosted last summer and the hordes it is preparing for. 
The
small Church, neighboring a Marabout (Muslim saint's tomb) charmingly
reminds us of the many cultures and religions that roamed these lands.
The local people's eagerness to switch from Moroccan to Spanish, then
to French is indicative of over 5 centuries of close kinship- though most
is owed to the 50 years of French and Spanish protectorate in these lands
( 1912 to 1956).
