Perdicaris Park

The Perdicaris Park, also known as the Rmilat Forest and formerly as Villa Aidonia or Place of the Nightingales, is a public park covering 70 hectares in the Rmilat neighborhood of Tangier, Morocco. It is located on the northern slopes of the Jebel Kebir hill facing the Strait of Gibraltar, between the Cape Spartel reserve to its west and the Jebel Kebir Royal Palace to its east. It is named after Greek-American notable Ion Hanford Perdicaris, who created it in the 1870s and was kidnapped there in the mid-1904 Perdicaris Incident.[1]

Perdicaris Villa in 2018, before renovation
Sunrise in the Perdicaris Park

History

Ion Perdicaris purchased the property, hitherto known as Aidonia[2] or Idonia,[3] in the 1870s and erected an eclectic villa in its midst, also known as "Château Perdicaris".[1]

In 1930, the Perdicaris family sold it to Marrakesh-based strongman Thami El Glaoui, who used it as his residence when visiting Tangier.[3][4]

After the death of El Glaoui followed by the independence of Morocco in 1956, the park became a state property.[5] Following a period of neglect, renovation started in 2015.[6] The villa was repurposed as a heritage center, inaugurated in early 2022.[7]

The park is home to hundreds of different botanical species.[8]

See also

Notes
  1. Lucas Peters. "The Strange History of Ion Perdicaris and the Perdicaris Park in Tangier". Journey Beyond Travel.
  2. "Villa Aidonia en Tánger, el romántico escenario de un amor y un secuestro". Siente Marruecos.
  3. Silvia Nélida Bossio, ed. (2011), Aproximación a los edificios históricos y patrimoniales de Málaga, Tetuán, Nador, Tánger y Alhucemas / Un Rapprochement entre les édifices historiques et patrimoniaux de Malaga, Tétouan, Nador, Tanger et Al Hoceima (PDF), Servicio de Programas del Ayuntamiento de Málaga, p. 321
  4. "Palais de Perdicaris, Tanger". The El Glaoui's Legacy. April 2021.
  5. "Le parc de Perdicaris". Tanger Guide.
  6. Najat Faïssal (24 June 2015). "Château Perdicaris à Tanger: La réhabilitation est en marche". Aujourd'hui Le Maroc.
  7. "Tanger : Le Château Perdicaris transformé en centre d'interpretation du patrimoine". Le Desk. 24 April 2022.
  8. "The Perdicaris Park". Infos Tourisme Maroc.

35.793°N 5.862°W / 35.793; -5.862


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