KASBAH MUSEUM

The Kasbah of Mediterranean Cultures in Tangier occupies the former Dar el-Makhzen Palace. It was built between 1684 and 1740 by the Pasha Ali ben Abdallah Er-Riffi and his son Ali after the English fled the city. It served as their residence and housed the courthouse and the treasury. The safe that housed the wealth from the tax is still visible. The patio in the central part of the building was used as a court of honour and many personalities were received there, including the painter Delacroix. It was here that diplomatic meetings were held. The zellijes and the Andalusian garden give an idea of the splendour of the residence. The palace was transformed into a museum in 1922.

First section. The visit starts with an explanation of the different archaeological sites in Tangiers. It continues with a permanent exhibition entitled "From the first hunters to the first farmers". The oldest artefacts date back to the Lower Palaeolithic period and bear witness to a very ancient settlement. The archaeological remains intensify as history progresses. Numerous objects from the Phoenician period remain: jewellery, ceramics, amulets and even decorated ostrich egg shells. The Mauretanian period is that of its emblematic king, Juba II. He was steeped in both Greek and Roman cultures, and one can admire a superb example of a coin, minted in Latin on one side (rex Juba), and in Greek on the other. The visit includes the room of the "koubba k'bira" decorated with a large dome of plaster and cedar wood carved and painted. It is here that illuminations and ancient scriptures are exhibited, as well as an illuminated Koran from the 13th century. The walls of the room are decorated with poetry.

Second section. This part of the museum highlights the artefacts testifying to the commercial exchanges between the Tingitane city and other Mediterranean civilizations. Some exceptional objects are exhibited here, including a vase decorated with fish, an ouchebti (Egyptian funerary statuette) and an Etruscan oenochoe (wine jug). It is also in this section that the beautiful mosaic "The Navigation of Venus" from Volubilis is exhibited. Judiciously installed on the floor of a patio, it shows the goddess at the helm of a galley.

Third section. The last part of the exhibition is devoted to funerary rites with, in particular, the life-size reconstruction of a Punic tomb.