Monday, 9 March 2026

Historical buildings in Tangiers and Fez

 So no toy soldiers Im afraid, but I thought the photos of the historic buildings might be of interest to some and would act as an aide memoir if I wanted to do a bit of scrath building at a later date! 












Medieval walls of Tangier, the updated glacis was added after they got rid of the Brits in 1684, Tangier had been part of the dowry of Catherine of Breganza his Portuguese wife in 1662.








Some 19th century artillery,rifled bronze pieces with entirely metal carriages, the French one seemingly made by Krupp, or maybe its a marriage of a barrel and carriage that didnt start off together ? Something that looks like Armstrong built it, a big coastal defence gun.





For Keith, an excellent Roman mosaic in what was the Sultans palace and during the Portuguese and British occupation , the governors residence, had to dredge up some French to work out the information boards, a legacy of colonial occupation, but its alright as theyve decided to ditch teaching French and teach English instead, Im sure that went down well in Paris!








A mosque door and doors and ceiling from the Sultans palace.









The courtyard with exagerated corinthian capitals and tiles


The remnants of a Roman cemetry stature,pretty massive, so about 54mm in relation to 28mm figure?  Useful to know!












Fez, a medieval city, 22km of walls enclosing the medina where one million people live, with barely any cars, a typical door, the tannery which seems little changed from Roman examples Ive seen excavated, another mosque door, the blue gate, green on the inside and a minarete near the blue gate, the last picture is for Suber as it looks just like his mine/hab creation, albiet without platforms for shuttles to land on! Fascinating trip down, the Atlantic coast has had so much rain in recent years that it looks frankly like Devon! Im writing this on the train to Marrakesh from Fez, I hope it was of some interest, as Im going to do something similar for Somerset at some point, next up probably a Valour and Fortitude AAR?

All the best 

Iain

40 comments:

  1. Fantastic pictures Iain, looks like you had a good time exploring.

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    1. Thanks Dave, more than a bit a new hope vibe but considring that wad filmed in north africa not that surprising!
      Best Iain

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  2. Great to see all that Iain. Thank you.

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    1. Thanks , I think theyre pretty interesting!
      Best Iain

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  3. Always nice to see pics of others trips Iain and I appreciate the effort you went to taking the shots of the mosaic!

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    1. Thanks Keith, I saw it and thought of you!
      Best Iain

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  4. Always wanted to visit Morocco. These images are excellent too. Hope you're enjoying yourself out there matey.

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    1. Lovely trip,great scenery and nice people!
      Best Iain

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  5. Excellent travelogue, Iain! Loved the photos of the architecture and your walk about. Morocco is a place I would enjoy visiting as well.

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    1. Thanks Jonathan, Fez is likd walking back in time ,well worth a visit, Im sure youd like it!
      Best Iain

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  6. I have a friend who went to Morocco last year and loved it. They seem to have done a good job in preserving much of the historical places of interest.

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    1. Yes, I mean the French decided Fez was great and stopped any further work in the old city when they took over, which is good fot us but probably less good for the inhabitants, I was populating everywhere with your fantastic arab conquest figures!
      Best Iain

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  7. Looks like a great place to visit Iain. Thanks for sharing your pictures.
    Chris/Nundanket

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  8. A country I'd love to visit one day, as I love the colours and the Islamic architecture. Our daughter did an expedition with school years ago and loved it, certainly impressing her friends with her haggling skills in the markets, which she learnt from her Mum!

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    1. Yes its definately a great place to visit, pretty inexpensive too, especially if you take your daughter?!
      Best Iain

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  9. Thanks for all the photos Iain. I hope you didn't get lost at any point in your expedition through the city. I am sure I would! 😁

    It must be an amazing place and certainly I would like to visit it.

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    1. Thsnks Ben, well worth a visit and impossible not to get lost at least a bit!
      Best Iain

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  10. Thank you so much! Even before reading about me I was so in love with all your pics! They are captivating and amazing. Thank you so much for thinking of me!

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    1. Thanks Suber, nice to have the reference pictures and looking back at the old town I couldnt help but think of your creation!
      Best Iain

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  11. Iain, Thanks for the walk about. Impressive local cityscape & buildings to use as imagination fodder.

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  12. Great photos Iain, really interesting!

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  13. Lovely photos and some inspiration amongst them.

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    1. Yes, I definately see some inspiration in these!
      Best Iain

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  14. Nice looking trip, would like to go one day 👍

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    1. Well worth the effort, safe and pretty inexpensive?
      Best Iain

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  15. Great post Iain, lovely photography. I visited both Tangier and Fez in the early 1980's, stayed in an incredibly rough place but a great experience! Met my future Wife there, a holiday romance and tunred out she lived just a few miles from me back home and 43 years married now and still together. Enjoy your trip to Marrakesh :)
    Cheers,
    Lee.

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    1. Thats a terrific story, congratulations!
      Best Iain

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  16. Excellent photos Iain, lots of ideas and insperation!

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  17. Ooh naughty mosaics - worth the price of admission on their own.

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    1. Pretty standard mosaics, its all in your head!
      Best Iain

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  18. Always interesting to see different architecture and art and all that.

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  19. Great pictures! I visited Fez last year, and it seems we saw similar wonders (including the tannery and the gates!)...Reminds me so many superb souvenirs, thanks!!

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  20. What a cool place! They’ll make some great inspiration if you do ever make some terrain out of it.

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    1. Yes, lovely textures, even if I dont do anything north african I thought?
      Best Iain

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