Turtle doves swoop and swerve in the lilac dusk.
In the sitting room at Villa Mabrouka, a fire cuts the November chill.
Its not for lack of trying.
Villa Mabrouka, Yves Saint Laurent’s onetime home in Tangier.Credit:Chris Wallace
Cranes have crowded the corniche for years.
A new Waldorf-Astoria hotel is in the works that will have 115 rooms and suites.
During my recent visit I heard the word gentrification more than once.
An archway in Tangier’s medina; the serene pool at Villa Mabrouka.Chris Wallace
But optimism isnt confined only to newness.
But mainly it is a place of gathering.
Perhaps inevitably, all these developments have the unintended consequence of drawing attention to what Tangier does not have.
From left: Cinema Rif, overlooking the Grand Socco, is home to the Cinémathèque de Tanger; a dried fruit stand inside Tangier’s medina.Chris Wallace
Marrakesh hosts a series of international conferences.
Many of Moroccos institutions and grand museums are located in the capital, Rabat.
But it seems that Tangiers true social scene is domestic.
From left: Rugs at Boutique Majid; a scooter, a common mode of transportation in Tangier, parked in the medina.Chris Wallace
Like Los Angeles in the age before Instagram, the dinner party is the main way people gather.
Visiting friends in the hills west of the medina reminded me strongly of Laurel Canyon in the 90s.
But our reading doesnt exist in a vacuum.
From left: Visitors enjoying a break outside the Kasbah Museum, a former palace; strolling Rue d’Italie.Chris Wallace
That reputation has informed the character of the Westerners arriving ever since.
And maybe we all still are, to some extent.
For years, that was something I was fighting, Bouzid said of the licentious Tangier of popular imagination.
Route de la Plage Merkala, which runs along the Strait of Gibraltar.Chris Wallace
Now Im kind of above it, because now were creating our own streams.
Tangier can stand alone without those nostalgic notions, he told me.
But those notions are incredibly charming to arrive at and explore.
From left: A merchant enjoying a tea break in the medina; the Marrakech Suite, formerly Yves Saint Laurent’s bedroom, at Villa Mabrouka.Chris Wallace
Aesthetically, Tangier has its own heritage, blended with a hodgepodge of influences.
These influences I found apparent in the melange of pieces in my room at Villa Mabrouka.
It is part of the legend of the city.
Seafood with harissa, nuts, and pomegranate juice at Saveur de Poisson.Chris Wallace
Visiting friends in the hills west of the medina reminded me strongly of Laurel Canyon in the 90s.
On this visit, it was quiet on the northern side of the neighborhood, almost lonesome.
The rooftop, for breakfast or sundowners, is one of the citys great viewpoints.
From left: Trompe l’oeil murals by Lawrence Mynott at Villa Mabrouka, a hotel in Tangier, Morocco; a candlelit dinner in the restaurant at Villa Mabrouka.Chris Wallace
Villa Mabrouka
English designer Jasper Conrans12-suite hotelwas once Yves Saint Laurents home.
It has a restaurant serving Mediterranean cuisine, lush gardens, and a fabulously overfilled pool.
Where to Eat
El Morocco Club
One of thefiner dining establishmentsin town.
From left: The turquoise-tiled pool and pavilion at Villa Mabrouka; dusk setting in over rooftops of the casbah.Chris Wallace
The downstairs piano bar is a classic see-and- be-seen nightlife spot.
A view of the Strait of Gibraltar from the Marrakech Suite (formerly Yves Saint Laurent’s room) at Villa Mabrouka.Chris Wallace
