Congratulations to the Legation on its bicentennial! On May 17, 1821, the U.S. opened its first, foreign public property outside of the U.S. It is the only U.S. National Historic Landmark located in a foreign country and is now home to the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies (TALIM). The Legation is a spacious historic building in the old city (Medina) of Tangier, given by the Sultan of Morocco as a gift to the U.S. in 1821. Today it functions as a museum, research library, conference facility, and community center, and hosts a range of cultural and youth-oriented programs. You can read more about the history of the Legation and how it came to house TALIM in the following Smithsonian Magazine article entitled, "Why a 200-Year Building in Morocco is the Only National Historic Landmark Outside the U.S." Also, have a listen to this podcast by the National Parks Service featuring John Davison, TALIM Director, talking about the history of the Legation and the work and outreach efforts of TALIM.
TALIM is the research center in Morocco of the American Institute for Maghrib Studies (AIMS) and a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC).
TALIM celebrated the event with a ceremony on May 17, 2021 and there will be more bicentennial events throughout the year. The ceremony was attended by David Green, Chargé d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Morocco, Mohammed Mhidia, Wali (Governor) of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al-Hoceima Region, and Nadia el Hnot, Director of Cooperation and Cultural Actions at the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The ceremony opened with a performance by U.S. Marine Color Guards from the U.S. Embassy in Morocco.
The officials also met with participants from TALIM's literacy program for women from the Medina. Since 1999, TALIM and the Tangier Al Madina Foundation have offered an intensive literacy program for the benefit of women and the program now has 150 participants.
To learn more about TALIM, visit legation.org