Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Morocco: Everything but Pork
Islam is as varied culturally as Christendom. Turkey is unique among Muslim
states because it's trying to join the European Union and because of its alli-
ance with the US (important during the Cold War, Gulf War, and Iraq War).
Morocco, another Muslim country, of ers a dif erent insight into Islam.
On my last visit to Morocco, what I found pleased me: a Muslim nation suc-
ceeding, stable, and becoming more al uent with no apparent regard for the US.
Tangier, which I once called “the Tijuana of Africa,” used to make me
nervous. But the city has changed radically in the last few years...and so has
my assessment of it. It was a neglected hellhole for a generation. Tangier
was an international city—favored by the West and therefore disdained by
Morocco's previous king. He made a point to divert all national investment
away from his country's fourth-largest city.
h e new king—Mohammed VI, who took the throne in 1999—believes
Tangier should be a great city again and has provided the funds to make it
happen. h e i rst city he visited after his coronation was Tangier. His sup-
port has changed the city and the dif erence is breathtaking. While Tangier
is still exotic—with its dilapidated French colonial and Art Deco buildings
giving it a time-warp charm—it's much more ei cient, people-friendly, safe-
feeling, and generally likable.
