Discovering modern art, mythic caves and coastal golf in Tangier
Today in Golf Travel Tales, we join Immy Barclay as she uncovers the wonders of Tangier, one of Africa’s oldest cities with 2,500 years of heritage.
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00:00This program is brought to you by Morocco, Kingdom of Light.
00:10Located at the entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar, at the crossroads between two seas and two
00:15continents, welcome to Tangier.
00:23You cannot fail to fall in love with the city.
00:26It's one of the oldest in Africa, with over 2,500 years of history, so join me to discover
00:33its wonders.
00:36Well, what better place to start than Morocco's oldest golf course?
00:43It's founded in 1914.
00:45The Tangier Royal Golf Country Club is also one of the oldest in Africa.
00:53Located in the center of the city, the Tangier Royal Golf Country Club extends over an area
00:58of approximately 65 hectares.
01:00How are you doing?
01:01Good.
01:02Good to see you.
01:03Welcome to Royal Country Club of Tangier.
01:05Well, I think you're going to be taking me around, are you?
01:07I think so.
01:08I'm going to scoot here.
01:09Into the wagon.
01:11Blue, this is a beautiful place.
01:14I can see why you're so fond of this course.
01:16It is amazing.
01:17It certainly has, for me, the most charm of all the Moroccan courses.
01:20It's an 18-hole course.
01:22It's hilly, especially the first nine.
01:25It's a challenging course, but it's a lovely course, so you never feel really bad once
01:29you finish, no matter how badly you've played, because this is a great place to play golf.
01:35It's a technical course with a mixture of hills and flats, sometimes challenging, sometimes
01:40simple, and a few surprises.
01:46Today, I'm in the Grand Soco, that inspired a novel of the same name by Joseph Kessel.
02:02Now, as soon as you enter the Old Medina, you are greeted by an abundance of beautiful
02:07scents and smells, and also there, you'll find lots of local street food to sample.
02:16The beautiful city of Tangier boasts these unforgettable landscapes, and fans of Greek
02:21mythology have to check out the Cave of Hercules, which you can find just around here at Cape
02:26Spartal.
02:29You can see why this beautiful scenery has seduced writers, adventurers, and artists
02:33for centuries, including Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote, Jack Kerouac, Eugène Delacroix,
02:41Camille Saint-Saëns, and Matisse, all fell under its spell.
02:48Well to find out more about Tangier's amazing art scene, I've come to the right place.
02:52This is the Museum of Contemporary Art.
02:55Hello.
02:56Hello.
02:57Assalamu alaikum.
02:59Nice to see you.
03:00I'm Aziz, a tour guide in Tangier, and I welcome you to discover the beauty of Tangier in the
03:03scene of art.
03:04Great.
03:05Come with me, please.
03:06Looking forward to this.
03:09What is the art scene like today?
03:11So actually to talk about art in Tangier, we need to know very well the history of this
03:15beautiful city, and actually Tangier is considered the point meeting between Europe and Africa.
03:21The history of Tangier is very rich.
03:23What would you say attracted artists to Tangier?
03:25So Tangier attracted everyone, and especially artists.
03:29So Tangier, thanks to its location, thanks to its history and cosmopolitan side, you
03:34know, this made of Tangier a very special city and an attraction for everyone.
03:40To finish my Tangier experience, I've come to play a round of golf at Alhuara Golf Club.
03:47Alhuara Golf Club is a unique course surrounded by a protected forest and the Atlantic.
03:52Conceived and designed by the famous architects Graham Marsh and Vijay Singh, the course stretches
03:57over 110 hectares between Tangier and Asila.
04:03So the Alhuara Golf Club is a magnificent 18 holes championship courses with a length
04:11of around 7,600 yards, and it features two swings, room, indoor room for education, nine
04:22hole compact practice facilities, which are all footed.
04:30The 13th hole is a very nice hilly hole, with an eventful green and big bunkers that
04:35defend it.
04:37The icing on the cake is a golf hole that ends on the sea with a magnificent view of
04:41the Atlantic.
04:45And if you're interested in other courses, there's the Cabo Negro Golf, nestled on the
04:49slopes of the Riff Massif, facing the sea.
04:56This program is brought to you by Morocco, Kingdom of Light.