Villa Harris Gardens

Villa Harris Gardens

Walter Burton Harris

Overview:

“Walter Harris,” one of the most famous journalists and correspondent of the British newspaper, The Times, settled in Tangier at that time and did not leave it.

He toured the world when he was not yet twenty years old, and when he came to Tangier at the age of twenty-one, the first thing he did was he wrote his will and asked to be buried there.

In fact, "Walter Harris" did not recommend that he be buried in Tangier, but that he be buried exactly in the garden of a wonderful villa he built directly on the seashore, the beach known today as "Villa Harris".

This villa is not just a dazzling residence for a famous journalist, it is history itself, a history that combines everything, politics, journalism, thriller, espionage, kidnapping, love and hate.

Walter Harris lived 77 years (1866-1933), a period that seems more than enough for him to experience all kinds of excitement in all areas.

When his death surprised him on April 4, 1933, while on a visit to Malta, he returned in a coffin to Tangier, but the will was not implemented for mysterious reasons, and he was buried in the British cemetery in Tangier, where his grave is still prominent today bearing his name, as if he was buried yesterday, Indeed, his tomb is the only one that bears Quranic phrases written in Arabic.

Architectural Description:

He personally supervised the construction of this villa, which is a magnificent palace filled with decorations and inscriptions painted on cedar wood.

He also personally supervised the planning for the construction and preparation of a number of gardens, which still contain many trees imported from Belgium.

The most important thing about this villa is the spacious garden around it, extending over an area of 9 hectares, which also had a swimming pool.

It has a small theater similar to the Roman theaters.

Resources:

tripadvisor website

hespress website

magress website