An expert expat’s tips for Tangier, Morocco

The expat

Bryan Dawe, on location in his new home, Tangier.

It took just two weeks for political satirist and digital artist Bryan Dawe to fall in love with the Moroccan port city of Tangier. The former inhabitant of the People’s Republic of Phillip Island (“a unique, environmental experiment that combines penguin and koala sanctuaries with extremely fast, international motorbike races”), he has lived in “this magical enclave” on four occasions, but resolved to make it permanent after the passing of his friend and fellow satirist John Clarke, in 2017. Bryan leads his OpenDawe tour of Morocco in February 2024. See amazighculturaltours.com

See

Hit the streets to see what Tangier will reveal.Credit: Alamy

To discover the magic of Tangier, you simply need to walk and engage with Tangier’s finest assets, its people. I have yet to discover people anywhere I have travelled as friendly and helpful as the Tangawa. You don’t need to watch television living in Tangier – it’s an ongoing daily comedy and drama series, all rolled into one.

Do

Tea and a view of the old medina in Tangier.

Take a healthy stroll through the Medina up to the Kasbah. Visit the Kasbah and Ibn Battuta museums. The Jewish cemetery and St Andrews church highlights the religious diversity and tolerance here, and both are well worth a visit. As is the stunning American Legation; a museum, research library, and cultural centre where you’ll find the Paul Bowles collection and the writers and artists who came in the 1960s (legation.org). For Bread Alone is the wonderful book by Morocco’s beloved author Mohamed Choukri. It describes his amazing story from illiterate, street prostitute to schoolteacher and novelist. It remains one of my favourites, as does Dreams of Trespass by Morocco’s first feminist, Fatema Mernissi, about growing up in Fes in 1950. Both books are available in English and can be bought in Australia. They are required reading in understanding the Moroccan spirit.

Eat

Book a table at the lovely El Morocco Club on Tabor Square in the Kasbah. Toss a coin and share a few different dishes (elmoroccoclub.ma). And if you fancy a quick trip to Spain, it’s 45 minutes by ferry across to Tarifa. It is not unusual for people to catch the 8am ferry across to Europe, do some shopping, have a nice lunch and be back on the 5pm ferry to Tangier in time for a beautiful fish dinner at El Dorado (Allal Ben Abdellah 23); the sea bass and whiting are my favourites.

Drink

Stop and take coffee in the old cafes like Cafe Hafa, Cafe de Paris, Café Baba or Cafe Tingis and ponder the history of all the great writers, musicians and artists who inhabited them during the 1960s and ’70s. Name the writer, spy, outlaw or outcast... they all came here, from Mark Twain to Tennessee Williams and the Rolling Stones; even Australia’s Billy Thorpe created an album of songs here called Tangier. Read and then follow American Josh Shoemake’s excellent book Tangier: A literary guide to Tangier. He sums up Tangier nicely. “...stories, stories – somebody’s always telling a story. Truth or fiction? Never mind. There’s not much difference here.”

Avoid

Organised tours.

Thrive

Having had a heart attack and survived triple bypass surgery in the past four months, I can attest to the very high standard of medical care in Tangier. As my cardiologist said, “I think too many people think we conduct surgery in a tent in the Sahara, with a camel grazing outside.” Save your dental visit until you get here – less than half the price of Australia.