Literary Tangier: Paul Bowles, the Beat Generation and the International Zone
From the 1920s through the 1960s, Tangier attracted a remarkable collection of writers, artists and bohemians. Paul Bowles lived here for 52 years. William Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch in the medina. Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote passed through. This literary heritage is embedded in specific streets, cafes and villas.
- 1
American Legation Museum
The oldest American public building outside the United States, the Legation now houses a museum of Tangier history and contemporary Moroccan art, with rooms dedicated to the writers and artists who lived here.
- 2
Cafe de Paris
The legendary cafe on the Place de France was the epicenter of the International Zone social scene, frequented by diplomats, artists and spies. It still operates and the terrace is unchanged in atmosphere.
- 3
Paul Bowles Apartment
The building in the new city where Bowles lived and worked until his death in 1999. The apartment is not always open but the building itself is a literary pilgrimage site for fans.
- 4
Hotel El Minzah
The grand colonial hotel opened in 1930 and hosted virtually every famous visitor to Tangier. Its bar has heard more extraordinary conversations than almost any room in North Africa.
- 5
Villa Mouniria
The small hotel in the medina where William Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch. The garden where the manuscript was assembled is accessible to guests and literary visitors.
- 6
Booksellers of the Medina
Several antiquarian bookshops in and around the Grand Socco specialize in books about Tangier, North Africa and the International Zone era, with first editions and rare paperbacks.