PERDICARIS PARK

At 10 minutes from downtown, on the wonderful road to Cap Spartel, this park which flows into the waters of the Strait of Gibraltar is a place of walking very popular with Tangierese. Left abandoned for decades, the forest of R'milat was completely rehabilitated in 2017. 70 hectares have been redeveloped with health courses, tables, benches and playgrounds. On weekends, you can meet joggers on its hilly hiking trails and families who have come to picnic in the middle of a mixed vegetation, influenced by the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. During the week, the area is less frequented and is ideal for long walks. When the wind, a key player in the region, rises, it makes the cork oaks, acacias and palm trees dance, overflown by migratory birds. When the gusts stop, under the sun, the decor is heavenly. The eyes naturally turn to the Andalusian coast with its reliefs that stretch from the estuary of the Guadalete to the tip of Tarifa through Cape Trafalgar. It was here that the Napoleonic fleet left the maritime domination to England in the ^19th century. On a clear day, Andalusia seems so close that you can see every town in the middle of the forest. Europe and Africa stretch out their arms, only fourteen kilometers apart.

As soon as the first cold weather arrives in Europe, kestrels, griffon vultures, black kites and other birds of prey head south. They constitute a small part of the local fauna. The flora was partly introduced by the former owner of the place, Ion Perdicaris. Established in Tangier at the end of the ^19th century, at the time the diplomatic capital of Morocco, this American billionaire planted dozens of exotic species such as yuccas, mimosas, eucalyptus, cypress and even California palms. Nestled in the heart of his estate, "La maison des Rossignols" , now a museum, was a clever mix of styles with its small castle-like appearance and medieval-inspired tower. Perdicaris found himself at the center of an international tug of war. Taken hostage by Raissouni, chief of a mountain tribe in May 1904, he was his prisoner for several weeks. His capture made the headlines all over the world and provoked the intervention of the American Navy sent by Theodore Roosevelt. The colossal ransom of $70,000 was paid by Sultan Moulay Aziz, who, weakened by this affair, was replaced by his brother before the establishment of the French and Spanish protectorates in Morocco.