For the past few days, spring has been coming to the fore. This is my favorite season and here, in Tangier, she’s even more beautiful. The streets are lined with orange trees, and their flowers perfume the entire city. At the souk, their smell mixes with cumin, cinnamon, pastries…

What a fabulous season. As the month of Ramadan approaches, homes make food reserves: the souk looks like a swarm of bees.

The weather is nice, the kittens are born and the children play with them in the street. Tangier is the city of cats. Wherever we go, there is a cat sleeping, or keeping us company. When we pass the fish farmer, there are always several cute cats waiting with wide eyes to receive something.

In the Medina, the old city, women seek freshness under their veil. From the first days, I noticed that Moroccans had a taste for decoration: They decorate their shops, their streets, and even the walls. I like to walk in the Medina: The old women always stop to ask us where we come from and welcome us to their country.
The adhan (call to prayer), five times a day from dawn to dusk, echoes throughout the city. There are a few minutes suspended in time. It’s magic. Then the men hurry to resume their activities. The city lives to the rhythm of these five calls, which surprised me at first, to finally become so familiar today.

 

Public squares, parks and beaches are also very popular with families who come to picnic and relax.
We are lucky to have the Mediterranean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean in the same city. The Mediterranean coast is suitable for families and tourists, and the Atlantic coast is wilder, less crowded.
Families with young children prefer the beaches of the sea, and young people prefer to go on a hike to explore the rocks at the ocean. Sometimes, we discover beautiful deserted coves. We can even meet domestic camels who are strolling on the beach.

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Here is Tangier. The city of cats and flowers. She is now part of my life even if it frightened me at first. But it’s like everywhere, we get used to it, we end up knowing and loving our environment. Every year I enjoy the summer with my family then I return to my habits at home.