Perdicaris Park
{{short description|Public park in Tangier, Morocco}}
File:Perdicares palace Tangier.jpg
File:Sunrise in the forest of Rmilat.jpg
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.{{cite web |website=Journey Beyond Travel |author=Lucas Peters |url=https://www.journeybeyondtravel.com/blog/perdicaris-park.html |title=The Strange History of Ion Perdicaris and the Perdicaris Park in Tangier }}
History
Ion Perdicaris purchased the property, hitherto known as Aidonia{{cite web |website=Siente Marruecos |title=Villa Aidonia en Tánger, el romántico escenario de un amor y un secuestro |url=https://www.sientemarruecos.viajes/magazine/aidonia-villa-perdicaris/ }} or Idonia,{{citation |title=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 |publisher=Servicio de Programas del Ayuntamiento de Málaga |editor=Silvia Nélida Bossio |url=http://malagamarruecos.com/upload/permanent/a365b7/Especerias-Catalogo-Edificios-Historicos.pdf |date=2011 |page=321}} in the 1870s and erected an eclectic villa in its midst, also known as "Château Perdicaris".
In 1930, the Perdicaris family sold it to Marrakesh-based strongman Thami El Glaoui, who used it as his residence when visiting Tangier.{{cite web |website=The El Glaoui's Legacy |url=https://www.facebook.com/ElGlaouiLegacy/posts/perdicaris-property-was-bought-by-thami-el-glaoui-to-sir-perdicaris-after-his-so/4196976303668132/ |title=Palais de Perdicaris, Tanger |date=April 2021 }}
File:DSC02950 Ion Perdicaris castle Tanger Morocco.jpg
After the death of El Glaoui followed by the independence of Morocco in 1956, the park became a state property.{{cite web |website=Tanger Guide |url=http://www.tangerguide.com/item/le-parc-de-perdicaris/ |title=Le parc de Perdicaris}} Following a period of neglect, renovation started in 2015.{{cite news |newspaper=Aujourd'hui Le Maroc |title=Château Perdicaris à Tanger: La réhabilitation est en marche |author=Najat Faïssal |date={{date|2015/06/24}} |url=https://www.maghress.com/fr/aujourdhui/183750 }} The villa was repurposed as a heritage center, inaugurated in early 2022.{{cite web |website=Le Desk |date={{date|2022/04/24}} |url=https://ledesk.ma/encontinu/tanger-le-chateau-perdicaris-transforme-en-centre-dinterpretation-du-patrimoine/ |title=Tanger : Le Château Perdicaris transformé en centre d'interpretation du patrimoine }}
The park is home to hundreds of different botanical species.{{cite web |website=Infos Tourisme Maroc |title=The Perdicaris Park |url=https://www.infostourismemaroc.com/en/monument/the-perdicaris-park-tangier-morocco }}
See also
Notes
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