The Tangier American Legation is an attractive Moorish-style building, built of stuccoed masonry, in Tangier, Morocco. The building is in the walled medina section of the city and was the first American public property outside the United States.
The Legation commemorates the historic relationship between the two countries, which dates back to when the Kingdom of Morocco became the first to recognize the United States as a nation. It is also symbolic of the 1786 Moroccan–American Treaty of Friendship, which is still in force today.
The Legation was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1981, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982—the only such designation of a property outside the U.S. The building has also been listed on the Register of Culturally Significant Property a register of State Department properties around the world that have particular cultural or historical significance.
The legation is an elaborate building of stuccoed masonry. It is a complex structure that contains the original two-story mud and stone building presented to the United States in 1821 by Sultan Moulay Suliman. It was the first property acquired abroad by the United States government and housed the United States Legation and Consulate for 140 years.
This is the most extensive period of time that any building abroad has been occupied as a United States diplomatic post. The complex of buildings expanded over the years as the surrounding buildings were purchased. During the Second World War it was used as a headquarters for United States intelligence agents.
After the diplomatic capital of Morocco moved to Rabat in 1956, when the country regained its independence from France and Spain, the Legation’s time as a diplomatic building ended. Over the years the U.S. government used it for a variety of roles including consulate and Peace Corps offices, but it became neglected and was at one time threatened with demolition.
In 1976 a group of American citizens established a public, not-for profit organization to save the building. Today the site is a museum and cultural center, officially known as the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies. There is a research library and conference space, and the center offers community outreach programs including Arabic literacy courses.
Ofisi ya Ujumbe wa Marekani ya Tangier ni jengo lenye kuvutia la mtindo wa Moorish, lililojengwa kwa mawe yaliyochongwa, huko Tangier, Morocco. Jengo hilo liko katika sehemu ya jiji la Medina na lilikuwa jengo la kwanza la umma la Marekani nje ya Marekani. Ujumbe huo unakumbuka uhusiano wa kihistoria kati ya nchi hizo mbili, ambao ulianza wakati Ufalme wa Morocco ulipokuwa wa kwanza kutambua Marekani kama taifa. Mkataba wa urafiki wa Morocco na Marekani wa 1786 bado unatumika. Jumba hilo lilirekodiwa katika orodha ya Uwanja wa Kihistoria wa Marekani mwaka 1981 na lilitambuliwa kama eneo la kihistoria nchini Marekani mwaka 1982 na ni jengo pekee la kihistoria lililo nje ya Marekani. Jengo hilo pia limeorodheshwa kwenye Usajili wa Mali ya Utamaduni muhimu, orodha ya mali za Idara ya Jimbo ulimwenguni kote ambazo zina umuhimu maalum wa kitamaduni au kihistoria. Ofisi hiyo ni jengo la hali ya juu lililojengwa kwa mawe yaliyochongwa. Jengo hilo ni jengo la kwanza la udongo na mawe lililotengenezwa na Sultan Mullah Sulayman. Jengo hilo lilikuwa jengo la kwanza lililopatikana nje ya nchi na serikali ya Marekani na lilikuwa makao makuu ya ubalozi wa Marekani kwa miaka 140. Hii ni kipindi kirefu zaidi cha wakati ambapo jengo lolote nje ya nchi limekuwa likitumiwa kama kituo cha kidiplomasia cha Marekani. Jengo hilo lilipanuka kwa miaka mingi kwa sababu majengo yaliyolizunguka yaliinunuliwa. Wakati wa Vita vya Pili vya Ulimwengu ilitumiwa kama makao makuu ya mawakala wa ujasusi wa Marekani. Baada ya mji mkuu wa kidiplomasia wa Morocco kuhamia Rabat mwaka 1956, wakati nchi ilipopata uhuru wake kutoka Ufaransa na Hispania, wakati wa Legation kama jengo la kidiplomasia ulimalizika. Kwa miaka mingi serikali ya Marekani ilitumia kwa majukumu mbalimbali ikiwa ni pamoja na ofisi za ubalozi na Peace Corps, lakini iliachwa na kutelekezwa na wakati mmoja ilitishwa na uharibifu. Mwaka 1976 kikundi cha raia wa Marekani kilianzisha shirika la umma lisilo la faida ili kuokoa jengo hilo. Leo eneo hilo ni jumba la makumbusho na kituo cha kitamaduni, kinachojulikana rasmi kama Taasisi ya Tangier ya Ujumbe wa Marekani wa Mafunzo ya Morocco. Kuna maktaba ya utafiti na nafasi ya mkutano, na kituo hicho hutoa programu za ufikiaji wa jamii ikiwa ni pamoja na kozi za kusoma na kuandika Kiarabu.