Midlist Writer: Travel Tuesday: Arzila, Morocco

Tuesday, 29 September 2015

Travel Tuesday: Arzila, Morocco

As regular readers of this blog know, I will be spending the entire month of October working on a novel in Tangier. While I'll be busy with work and hanging out with my friends there, I'll also make time for a few side trips. Two places I very much want to see are the historic towns of Tétouan and Arzila.

Here are a few shots of Arzila, taken from Wikimedia Commons since I haven't been there yet. My own photos will come soon!

Arzila started as a Phoenician trading port on the Atlantic coast back in 1500 BC. It passed through various hands over the centuries, including the Moroccans, the Portuguese, and the Spanish. It has a well preserved medina (old city) with winding medieval streets and touches of old architecture. Its city walls still stand as a memory of regular raids. Sometimes it was the locals doing the raiding--it was a den of pirates during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

I'll be visiting in October, but I'm going to have to return sometime in the summer when there's a huge, two-month arts and cultural festival. While it's sure to be crazy busy with visitors at that time, the festival is apparently stunning and well worth hacking through the crowds.

Sounds pretty interesting, and it's only 50 kilometers from Tangier!

2 comments:

D.G. Hudson said...: Will look forward to seeing such an exotic location! These photos are stunning in their architectural beauty, too. Such lovely writing retreats you have, Sean.; 29 September 2015 at 08:12
Alex J. Cavanaugh said...: Beautiful town. Can't wait to see your photos.; 29 September 2015 at 10:21

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