Café el Hafa (Arabic: مقهى الحافة).. is a cafe in the north of Tangier, Northern Morocco, located along the cliff top overlooking the Bay of Tangier. founded in 1921, the cafe still has its original decor from the old days. Visitors have included Paul Bowles, William S. Burroughs, The Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. The cafe is known for its mint tea, a Tangier special brew.
You may take a quick tour in the Hafa cafe, and around it during the sunset in this short youtube video below from out channel:
Like Venice and its Caffè Florian or even Paris and its Café de Flore, Tangier has its legendary café. Café Hafa (or El Hafa), a peaceful, cosmopolitan, almost magical place founded in 1921. Built on a cliff, this café offers a splendid view of the ocean. Its location, its atmosphere, and its famous mint tea have attracted many people including the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Sean Connery, and the writer Paul Bowles. In his book The City of a Thousand and One Lights, he wrote: “I am going back to the Hafa café. It is on its terrace that I continue to dream. Time has changed everything except this place. Secret and silent, the Hafa café has remained as before, magical. Generation after generation, this is where chess players, poets, writers, artists meet. And, installed on the old straw mats, they still abandon themselves to the sweet illusions of Kif ”.
To get to Hafa cafe, it is better to have a car. If you don't have one there, you can rent one or you can get there by a Taxi, there busses that go by it but it would be complicated for you to know which one to get and from where.
Tangier, also called Tangiers; Arabic: طنجة , Amazigh (Berber): ⵟⴰⵏⵊⴰ, is a beautiful city in the northwest part of Morocco. The city is concidered to be the meeting point of the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel (See cap Spartel in this video: https://youtu.be/y7vWimGSGC4). The town is the capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region (following the new devision system of the kingdom).
You may take a Look inside Tanger in this Youtube video below:
And here is a shorter version with a moroccan song about Tanger:
History: The History of Tangier is very interesting, because of its unique location it was always a target to conquer for many empires since the beginning of mankind. It was founded as a Phoenician colony, as early as the 10th century BC (possibly) and almost certainly by the 8th century BC. It went from there to the The Carthaginians that added it to their empire around the 5th century BC. next Tangier got under the rule of the Mauretanian kings, followed by the Romans. The Greeks knew this town as Tingis, Legend says that Tinjis that is the daughter of Atlas, slept with Hercules and bore him the son Syphax. After Tinjis' death, Syphax founded the port and named it in her honour. The story goes on by telling that Hercules took a rest on Cape Spartel during his labors in what's called now "Cave of Hercules" (Watch video of Hercules cave here: https://youtu.be/y7vWimGSGC4).. In Modern History Tangier fell under many reigns:
Portugal 1471–1580
Spain 1580-1640
Portugal 1640-1661
England 1661–1684
Morocco 1684–1912
Spain 1912–1924
It was also declared an International city between 1924 and 1956 under an international convention signed in Paris on 18 December 1923. Finally it came back to Morocco in 1956 when Morocco obtained its indipendance.
Economy: Tangiers is the second most important industrial centre in Morocco after Casablanca. With many industrial sectors but mainly textile and metallurgical industries.. recently four industrial parks were built in Tangier. Two of them have the status of free economic zone, which brought many foreign investment to the aria and created thousands of stable jobs. It is known that Tangier's economy relies basically on tourism. Heavy investments have been made in tourist infrastructures by real estate and construction companies. A bay in the city that extends for more than 7 km (4 mi). Some very large construction projects were completed back in 2008; including the Tangier-Mediterranean port (called Tanger-Med) and its industrial parks, a 45,000-seat sports stadium, an expanded business district, and a renovated tourist infrastructure. The building of the port Tanger-Med had as goal to create 120,000 new jobs, 20,000 at the port and 100,000 resulting from growing economic activity. Landmarks:
Dar el Makhzen (Sultan's palace), built on the site of the former English Upper Castle
Cape Spartel (usually refered to as Cap Spartel without the "e") is a headland on the Atlantic coast in Tangiers. Mistakenly referd to as the northmost point of the African continent but it's actually not. It is on the other hand the meeting point between the mediterranean sea and the Atlantic ocean. Sometimes refered to as the corner of Africa by locals.
Cape Spartel is about 300 m (1,000 feet) above sea level at the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, about 12 km (7miles) West of Tangier.
You may see Cape Spartel and Hercules cave in this youtube video below:
Cap Spartel is the most North Western point of mainland Africa. The cape rises to a height of 326 m. at the top of the mountain called "Jebel Kebir" where there is a tower. There is another tower nearer to the end of the cape which serves as a lighthouse.
The Caves of Hercules (Grottes d'hercule) is an archaeological site located aopproximately at 14 kilometres (9 mi) west of Tangier. It is one of the famous tourist attractions of the City.
The main cave has 2 openings, one from the seaside and the other from the dryland. the one from the seaside is known as the map of Africa. It is said that the opening in the shape of Africa was made by the Phoenicians. There are also some markings on the wall in the shape of eyes, that are said to be made by the Phoenicians, which make up a map of the local area.
The cave of Hercules itself is part natural and part man-made. The man-made part was used by Berber people to cut stone wheels from the walls, to make millstones, which expanded the cave considerably through time.
Up to the making of this video The entrance to the cave of Hercules is free, but there is a part where you will need to pay 5 Dirhams.
Legend:
The cave was long thought to be bottomless. It was believed that the cave is one end of a subterranean ley tunnel over 24 kilometres (15 mi) long which passes under the Strait of Gibraltar and emerges at St. Michael's Cave in Gibraltar. Legend has it that the Barbary macaques entered the Rock of Gibraltar from Morocco this way. Mythological tradition also holds that the Roman god Hercules stayed and slept in this cave before doing his 11th labour, (one of the 12 labours which King Eurystheus of Tiryns had given to him) which was to get golden apples from the Hesperides Garden, which some ancient Greek writers said was located nearby at Lixus (one of the cities of Larache) . According to some Roman sources, while on his way to the garden of the Hesperides, Hercules had to cross the mountain that was once Atlas. Instead of climbing the great mountain, Hercules used his superhuman strength to smash through it. By doing so, he connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and formed the Strait of Gibraltar. One part of the split mountain is Gibraltar and the other is either Monte Hacho in Ceuta or Jebel Musa (known as the Mons Abyla in classical times) in Morocco. These two mountains taken together have since then been known as the Pillars of Hercules, though other natural features have been associated with the name. Diodorus Siculus, however, held that instead of smashing through an isthmus to create the Straits of Gibraltar, Hercules narrowed an already existing strait to prevent monsters from the Atlantic Ocean from entering the Mediterranean Sea.
The Greek mythology version is that Heracles went to Atlas and offered to hold up the heavens while Atlas got the apples from the garden of his daughters, the Hesperides which was also guarded by the dragon Ladon. Upon his return with the apples, however, Atlas attempted to trick Heracles into carrying the sky permanently by offering to deliver the apples himself, as anyone who purposely took the burden must carry it forever, or until someone else took it away. Heracles, suspecting Atlas did not intend to return, pretended to agree to Atlas' offer, asking only that Atlas take the sky again for a few minutes so Heracles could rearrange his cloak as padding on his shoulders. When Atlas set down the apples and took the heavens upon his shoulders again, Heracles took the apples and ran away.
