Tangier was international territory from 1923 to 1956, administered by multiple European powers, where the rules that governed everywhere else didn't apply. The banking that flourished because regulation didn't exist, the espionage that concentrated because everyone was there, the culture that developed because freedom permitted it - the international zone made Tangier what it became.

The international zone ended when Morocco gained independence, but the legacy persists in what Tangier remembers about itself. The zone created the reputation that Tangier trades on - the freedom, the intrigue, the possibilities that structured societies cannot offer.

The Beat writers discovered Tangier in the 1950s, William Burroughs writing Naked Lunch here, Paul Bowles settling permanently and chronicling Morocco until his death in 1999. The writers who came for the freedom that the international zone offered, who stayed for the cheap living and the inspiration that difference provides - the writers made Tangier famous among audiences who would never visit.

The Café Hafa where writers gathered, the hotel rooms where novels were written, the graves where some were buried - the literary heritage is what certain visitors seek. The writers are gone; the Tangier they found has changed. The literary tourism remains.

Tangier's medina climbs from the port through the kasbah to the views that the highest points provide. The streets that confuse visitors, the shops that sell what tourists want, the Grand Socco where old city meets new - the medina is Tangier's historic core that tourism hasn't overwhelmed.

The medina holds what Tangier was before the international zone, the city that Morocco built, the architecture that reflects function rather than spectacle. The medina is challenging to navigate and rewarding to those who persist.

The Strait of Gibraltar is what makes Tangier strategic, the 14 kilometers of water that separate Africa from Europe, that funnel all shipping between Mediterranean and Atlantic. The strait that empires have sought to control, that modern shipping still transits, that migrants attempt to cross in boats that too often fail.

The strait provides Tangier's views - the Spanish coast visible on clear days, the ships that pass constantly, the geography that explains why Tangier matters. The strait is what makes Tangier gateway; the gateway is what made Tangier interesting.

Modern Tangier spreads beyond the medina in development that investment from both Morocco and abroad has funded. The new port that containers fill, the business districts that companies occupy, the beach resorts that tourists enjoy - Tangier is growing beyond its reputation.

The modern city is what Tangier is becoming - the development that investment enables, the infrastructure that the old city lacked, the Morocco that looks forward rather than back. The modern city is not what visitors come for; it is what Tangier's future requires.