Greetings!
Today last day in Tanger was a difficult day to capture photos for a blog. After breakfast, we had two hours to wander on our own through the area around our hotel before we were to board a larger bus to drive to the train station. We chose to visit the building which served for a long time as he home of the American delegation (like an embassy), and then to a building which previously was a synagogue, and is now a museum of Moroccan history.
The walk to each covered streets and alleyways which were no different from those you'v seen plenty of in previous posts. The insides of each contained walls and glass cases displaying documents and photos which are very difficult to make interesting within a post.
But there was a street sign nearby which sparked my interest, but which I failed to photograph. It said "9 April 1947". I asked our guide, Zak, what had happened on that date to warrant a street named after it. I knew that other countries honored revolution dates in that way.
Here's the story, and how it relates to where we visited today. During WWII in January of 1943, President Roosevelt invited Sultan Mohammed V to a dinner at a conference in Casablanca with he and Winston Churchill. Most historians agree that this offer was Roosevelt's effort to indicate that the U.S. favored independence for Morocco. Mohammed V never forgot that support. After the war ended, on the second anniversary of Roosevelt's death, the U.S. Aircraft Carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt was undergoing maneuvers off Morocco's coast. On April 9, 1947, Mohammed V visited the American Delegation building, and delivered a powerful speech thanking Roosevelt. He reminded the world that Morocco was the first to recognize America when it's independence was proclaimed. Nine years later, Morocco became an independent country.
The rest of the day, Morocco's new Super Train (fastest in Africa) took us to Rabat. Most of us had been on faster trains, but we were relieved at the speed and quiet (now if we can just get the screaming kid to be quiet). Once driven to our hotel, the Pre-Trip segment of our journey ended, we gained four more members, and we began the main segment of our Moroccan adventure with a welcome dinner.
Today last day in Tanger was a difficult day to capture photos for a blog. After breakfast, we had two hours to wander on our own through the area around our hotel before we were to board a larger bus to drive to the train station. We chose to visit the building which served for a long time as he home of the American delegation (like an embassy), and then to a building which previously was a synagogue, and is now a museum of Moroccan history.
The walk to each covered streets and alleyways which were no different from those you'v seen plenty of in previous posts. The insides of each contained walls and glass cases displaying documents and photos which are very difficult to make interesting within a post.
But there was a street sign nearby which sparked my interest, but which I failed to photograph. It said "9 April 1947". I asked our guide, Zak, what had happened on that date to warrant a street named after it. I knew that other countries honored revolution dates in that way.
Here's the story, and how it relates to where we visited today. During WWII in January of 1943, President Roosevelt invited Sultan Mohammed V to a dinner at a conference in Casablanca with he and Winston Churchill. Most historians agree that this offer was Roosevelt's effort to indicate that the U.S. favored independence for Morocco. Mohammed V never forgot that support. After the war ended, on the second anniversary of Roosevelt's death, the U.S. Aircraft Carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt was undergoing maneuvers off Morocco's coast. On April 9, 1947, Mohammed V visited the American Delegation building, and delivered a powerful speech thanking Roosevelt. He reminded the world that Morocco was the first to recognize America when it's independence was proclaimed. Nine years later, Morocco became an independent country.
