Out on its Own

Some come for the light, some for the views, some for old-fashioned decadence: the seaside city of Tangier has a magnetism that's entirely its own   Clinging to the northwest corner of Africa, Tangier has a different feel to the rest of Morocco. Buffeted by the wind and rain that come in off the Strait of Gibraltar it occupies a space between two worlds – Europe and Africa, Atlantic and Mediterranean, raffish 20th century port and shiny city of the future.   Many of Tangier's visitors come down from Spain via the ferry from Tarifa. Heading up in the other direction is a stream of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. They end up in Tangier, gazing forlornly across the the Strait as they await the visa (or lorry) that will take them to a new life in Europe.   From its earliest days Tangier has been a meeting point, a place of passers-through. Between 1932 and 1956 the city was an international zone under the control of the French, Spanish and English. Lax laws and a hedonistic lifestyle were the order of the day. You could get anything you wanted, the saying went, in the Petit Socco of Tangier.   Even after Morocco gained its independence the city retained a loucheness that attracted western artists, writers and musicians like Paul Bowles, Tennessee Williams and the Rolling Stones. This easy-going charm is in danger of being swept away by a wave of modernisation. The port has shifted 40 kilometres to the east. In its place is springing up a marina complex with apartments, a luxury shopping mall and a business district.   Photography: Zara Samiry