American Legation Of Tangier - Morocco

 

◙ The American Legation of Tangier is a building located in the down-town of Tangier, in northern Morocco. 

 

◙ The oldest U.S. diplomatic building abroad, it is listed as the first historical monument on the register located outside the United States. 

 

◙ Morocco was the first country to officially recognize the independence of the United States of America by Moulay Abdallah. 

 

◙ As a symbol of this new friendship, Sultan Moulay Slimane offered this House of Tangier to the American diplomatic mission in 1821. 

 

◙ It is the only monument belonging to the United States outside its national territory (not counting embassies). 

 

◙ This legation was turned into a museum in 1956, now run by a private foundation based in Washington. 

 

◙ In remembrance of this historic link, US President Eisenhower was also the first to recognize Morocco's independence in 1956, and personally travelled to Rabat for the occasion.

The museum is a huge residence of forty rooms, furnished in 19th century fashion. We walk around the white carpeted lounges. 

 

◙ The second house was purchased in 1890 by an American consul, Maxwell Blake, who donated it to the United States. 

 

◙ Crossing through the passage overlooking the alley connecting the two parts, one can notice the contrast between the two buildings: the first, European; and the second, Moroccan, with his moucharabiehs to see without being seen. 

 

◙ A play is dedicated to Paul Bowles, the adventure novelist, author of: A Tea in the Sahara, who ended his days in Tangier in 1999. 

 

◙ The museum is also home to Morocco's only English-language library.