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The white-washed buildings of Tangier, base of
U.S. espionage operations at the beginning of
WWII.
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Few cities have a history to rival that
of Tangier. Legend has it that the ancient city was created
by Hercules himself, when he ripped the continents of Europe
and Africa apart to bestow upon his new-born son a kingdom
protected by water as well as the huge cliffs known to this
day as "the Pillars of Hercules."
Home to seafaring warriors from the beginning
of recorded time, Tangier was also a base for the notorious
Barbary Pirates.
Indeed, the city of intrigue described
so vividly in the classic movie Casablanca was in fact Tangier.
Rick's Café was modeled on the bar at the Hotel El
Minzah; but there were few Nazis in the Spanish-controlled
city, so the action in the movie was moved to Casablanca.
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Leo
Hoffman's lover, Christine Granville, is pictured
here with her longtime partner and paramour,
Anthony Kennedy. Born Krystyana Skarbek, the
daughter of a Polish count, Christine was
one of the most glamorous and successful undercover
agents working for the Brits during WWII.
After the war she had a brief affair with
Ian Fleming, becoming his inspiration for
the double agent "Vesper Lynde" in his first
James Bond novel, Casino Royale.
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Colonel William
A. Eddy: Leo's boss in Tangier, Colonel William
A. Eddy, was born in Syria to missionary parents,
and was reputed to be the only commissioned
officer in the U.S. military fluent in Arabic.
He moved U.S. operations to the corruption-laden
city of Tangier to help camouflage his team's
suspect activities.
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