Loading ...A Historic Bond: The Tangier American Legation Institute and U.S.-Morocco Diplomacy
Phoenix, Arizona – With the words above a permanent physical partnership was forged between the United States and the Kingdom of Morocco which lasts to today. Indeed, the Tangier American Legation Museum serves as a reminder of the precious historic bond between the two nations, Morocco being the first state to recognize the United States in 1777. The Legation building is difficult to miss in the medina of the city. Located at number 8 Zankat America Street, this gift to the United States from the Sultan Moulay Slimane one hundred and thirty-five years ago is the oldest American diplomatic property in existence and the only National Historic Landmark located outside the bounds of the United States.
A trip inside the museum now housed on site will provide the visitor with breathtaking works of art, early-nineteenth-century furnishings, period photographs, books, and assorted diplomatic documents of interest to both the researcher and nonacademic guest alike.
Although the current Legation architecture is noteworthy for its finely-crafted Moorish arches, fountains, gardens, ornate zellij tilework, finely-crafted metalwork, and sprawling layout, the building looked far different in 1821 than it does today, and began its existence as a simple single-story structure to house visiting diplomats during the early Jacksonian period of American history. The updated building that visitors witness is primarily the product the late 1920s and instituted by the consul at the time, Maxwell Blake. The property is currently administered and maintained by the Tangier American Legation Museum Society in Washington, D.C.
Source: www.moroccoworldnews.com