Tangier

Tangier

More than any other city, Tangier has been Morocco's face to the world for more years than anyone cares to remember. Its strategic location on the narrow strait that separates Africa from Europe has been coveted and controlled by a seemingly endless procession of empires and kingdoms: the Phoenicians, Romans, Visigoths, Portuguese, British and Spanish. Tangier has seen them all come and go, absorbing a little from each conqueror before blithely getting back to doing what is has always done best - making money. Its most recent occupants prior to Moroccan independence came in a shotgun marriage between the western powers who controlled the port via a dubious international council for half the 20th century.

• Population: 947 952 (2014)
• Region: Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima
• Coordinates: 35°46?N 5°48?W