ATM Tour – Rabat to Tangier – Day 5 – 15 January 2026

Going by the experience of the past few days in Morocco, I thought it best to leave post 8.30 am, after a leisurely breakfast. The skies are dark before then. Breakfast in the Dar Yanis accommodation started from 8 in the 'living' room furnished with comfortable sofas and generous cushions. By now, I have been 'hooked on' to Moroccan coffee. I had two cups of strong coffee along with Msemmen, Harsha and the Moroccan pancake called Baghrir, which are a kind of light and fluffy pancakes. I instantly fell in love with it. I had two of them with strawberry jam. Then came the oranges, small but sweet. I was tanked up for the drive to Tangier. Before leaving the accommodation, I walked up to the terrace to see the facilities provided there to relax and enjoy the sun.

Soon it was time for the farewell. The husband and wife who maintained the accommodation had been so friendly and helpful that I had felt at home in Dar Yanis. In fact, the lady told me that two of her daughters are in Oman and they were familiar with Keralites and their nature. Always smiling and, now overloaded with joy thanks to the Moroccan victory on the football field, I felt they were surely a couple of souls I was traveling with through time and space.

While I was walking the short distance through the medina to the parking lot, I was bid goodbye from the city by a complete semicircular rainbow. In a short time, I eased the car on to the road to visit the Lighthouse of Rabat. Just then, the sight of the Martyrs' Cemetery of Rabat, called the Allal Ben Abdellah Cemetery, stunned me. It is a significant and stunning place with over ten thousand graves overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Established in the early 20th century, it holds the remains of notable figures from Moroccan history including politicians, soldiers, artists, businessmen, generals, and intellectuals.

At the time of my visit to the lighthouse the sun had risen in full glory, shedding the shackles of the grey clouds. Its effect on the thundering waves that crashed on to the promontory housing the Lighthouse of Rabat was a sight to behold. Wave after wave crashed on the pincer like rock formation near the lighthouse that was taking a battering and daring the Ocean to do its best - ala Muhammad Ali.

The lighthouse was commissioned in 1920. It was just me, a colony of seagulls and a couple of cats that enjoyed the awesome symphony there. I had to leave for Tangier. Otherwise, I would have spent more time enjoying the salubrious environment.

The highway to Tangier was four laned most of the route and well carpeted. It was not as good as the motorways but was good enough to take the speed of 120 kph all through. I paid Rs. 765 as toll for the 250 km but was worth it. Along the highway were vast stretches of olive farms and other greenhouse cultivation. A feature I noticed in Morocco is that infrastructure is being augmented for the 2030 World Cup in all major cities to exploit the potential of tourism.

About 60 km short of Tangier, I experienced dense fog for many kms. Maybe it was because of the early morning rain in the densely forested area, I thought. I also presumed that it would affect my program for the day in Tangier. I was wrong. Closer to Tangier bright sunshine broke through and Tangier was bathed in a sea of bright sunlight. The accommodation I had booked, the Villa Adam, was not far from the Tangier city center. Once again, after the calming experience in Dar Yanis in Rabat, the Villa Adam accommodation was superb. Roomy and spacious, the allotted room had an overhung balcony. I had a cup of coffee before getting back into the car to visit the places I had chalked out in advance.

First on the agenda was a visit to Cap Spartel, which lay about 18 km from the Tangier city center. The drive for the most part along the coast is glorious with superb views of the Sea and Ocean. I wanted to stop at each turn to enjoy the view and take photographs. Finally, when I reached Cap Spartel I was blown away by the sights in front of me. I parked near a board which showed the direction of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. This is supposedly the place where the Sea meets the Ocean.

A short climb from there and I came to the lighthouse that stands on a promontory, 315 meters above the sea. The lighthouse, that began operating in 1864, was requested for by consular representatives of European powers, alarmed by the numerous shipwrecks occurring off the cape. Located at the southern entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar the beam of the Cap Spartel lighthouse is visible for 30 nautical miles. Opposite Cap Spartel, 44 km to the north, Cape Trafalgar marks the northern entrance to the strait, on the Spanish coast.

The Caves of Hercules are located in Achakar, which is just five kilometres from Cap Spartel. The caves have long been a cornerstone of Tangier and Morocco’s tourism scene. With legendary tales of Hercules interwoven into them, the striking rock formations, and the famous Africa-shaped opening into the Straits of Gibralter, the caves attract thousands of visitors each year.

Archaeologists have traced signs of habitation here as far back as 6000 BCE, making it one of the oldest known sites of human presence in Morocco. Over the centuries, the cave evolved - partly shaped by nature, partly by those who used it for shelter, trade, and resource extraction. The entrance fee to the attraction is quite steep at 80 MAD. It was indeed a shame that may tourists, including I, were turned off by the needlessly high entrance fee.

From the Caves I drove on to explore the famous Tangier Medina. I was fortunate to find a parking slot close to the Church of Saint Andrew, an Anglican church, consecrated in 1905. I found, interestingly, that the church is within the Archdeaconry of Gibraltar. The building was constructed in Moorish architectural style. The belltower, shaped like a minaret, overlooks the adjacent cemetery. Interestingly, there I found the tombstone of Basil Scott, who had been Chief Justice of Bombay from 1908 to 1919. He had been born in Bombay, but had died in Tangier at the age of 67.

I walked from the St Andrews Church, past the Mini Market and emerged at the Grand Socco, which is the romantic entrance to the medina. It is a large, sloping, palm-ringed plaza with a central fountain that stands before the keyhole gate, Bab Fass. The Grand Socco is surrounded by a mosque, a few shops, several banks, half a dozen modest restaurants with covered outdoor seating areas, several cafés and the Cinema Rif. It was once a major market; its cobblestone circle is now the place where newer developments of the city meld into the old medina.

The medina, the top attraction of Tangier, is a labyrinth of alleyways, both commercial and residential. It is contained within the walls of a 15th-century Portuguese fortress. However, considering most other medinas in Moroccan cities, most buildings in the Tangier Medina are actually relatively new. The place is full of travellers’ treasures and offers glimpses of traditional living. Walking through the medina I marked out the Kanzeman restaurant, located near the Petite Socco, for dinner.

Petite Socco was once the most notorious crossroads of Tangier, the site of drug deals and prostitution. Today the facades are freshly painted, tourists abound, and is a wonderful square for people watching over a cup of mint tea. People in traditional, ceremonial robes play festive music and tourists jostle to take photos and videos of their music and dance.

I walked past the Immaculate Conception Church, where I was told that it is not open for worship, to the Terrasse des Paresseux. The aptly named 'Idlers’ Terrace' provides sweeping views of the Tangier port, and, on a really clear day, Gibraltar, it is said. A set of ancient cannons faces the bay, symbolically warding off usurpers, though children can be seen climbing them!

In the immediate vicinity of the Terrace is the Great Mosque of Tangier. Entry to this grand, green-shingled mosque, which at one time housed a Portuguese church, is prohibited for non-Muslims.

It was time to get something into the stomach, as I had skipped lunch. While leaving Dar Yanis in Rabat I was told that I should experience fish preparation in Tangier, as it has the freshest fish in the whole of Morocco. In the Kanzeman restaurant I ordered a fish tajine and a glass of orange juice. The tajine, served with Khobz bread, was superb. The taste of the fish had just the right blend of spice and herbs. I polished it off with generous sips of orange juice. As if that was not enough, I bought a piece of mocca topped puff pastry on the way out of the Medina.

I drove back to the accommodation and rested to prepare for the last phase of the ATM Tour.