By Kunle Solaja, inside Hercules Cave, Tangier

If Cape Spartel felt like Geography coming alive, then the visit to Hercules Cave was history and mythology stepping out of the pages and into lived experience.

Once again, the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations proved to be more than a football assignment. It became an education—this time in legend, geology and the enduring dialogue between man and nature.

Situated just outside Tangier, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Hercules Cave is one of those places you think you know—until you actually go there.

I had heard the stories, seen the photographs, and read the guidebook references. But nothing quite prepares you for the sensation of standing inside a cave where myth, sea and stone seem to converse.

A Journey Framed by the Atlantic

The drive to Hercules Cave followed the familiar coastal rhythm of Tangier—rolling roads, ocean breezes and sudden openings where the Atlantic announces itself in waves and wind.

As with Cape Spartel, the journey itself felt deliberate, almost ceremonial, easing visitors away from the bustle of the city and into a quieter, older world.

The cave complex sits close to the shoreline, its entrance modest, almost deceptive. But once inside, the atmosphere changes immediately. The air cools, footsteps echo, and the outside world fades into filtered light and the distant sound of the sea.

Some visitors are going into the cave.

It has been designated as a Moroccan National Heritage since 1950. It costs 100 Moroccan Dirham, which is 10 euros, to visit the Cave.

Where Myth Meets Stone

A tour guide, simply called Rachid, explains the myth around the Cave. Legend has it that Hercules rested here after completing one of his twelve labours. Whether one believes the myth or not almost becomes irrelevant inside the cave.

Rachid tells the story of Hercules and the cave.

The stories linger in the shadows, giving the place a gravity that pure geology alone might not fully explain.

Nature, however, has clearly had the final word. The cave’s most famous feature is its sea-facing opening, shaped unmistakably like the map of Africa.

Through it, the Atlantic surges and retreats, carving, polishing and reshaping the limestone over centuries. Standing before that opening, watching waves crash and withdraw, one understands why the site has captured imaginations for generations.

An Unscripted Classroom

Like Cape Spartel, Hercules Cave functions as an open classroom. The walls tell stories of erosion and time, of water patiently sculpting rock. Guides explain how parts of the cave were naturally formed while others were expanded through human activity, blending natural history with human intervention.

Inside the cave. An opening that looks like a nature-carved outline map of Africa, seen as reversed from within, but depicting the actual when viewed from the Atlantic Ocean. Here, I stand by the bronze carvings of Hercules.

Light filters in unevenly, creating silhouettes and shadows that shift with the movement of the sun and sea. It is easy to linger, to forget time, and to reflect on how small human timelines are when placed against geological ages.

Tangier, Always Teaching

The wind followed us here too, sweeping in from the Atlantic, carrying salt and chill. Tangier, it seems, insists on reminding visitors of its elemental nature—sea, wind, rock and story bound tightly together.

What struck me most, once again, was symbolism. Just as Cape Spartel represents the meeting of two seas, Hercules Cave represents the meeting of myth and reality, of imagination and physical space. Morocco’s self-image as the Kingdom of Light feels especially apt here—light entering the cave, illuminating stone, history and legend all at once.

As the Africa Cup of Nations unfolds with its familiar drama of goals, tactics and results, these off-pitch journeys may well outlast the matches in memory. Hercules Cave, like Cape Spartel, reinforced a simple truth: travel, when allowed to breathe, becomes education. And in Tangier, every excursion seems determined to teach.

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By Kunle Solaja, Tangier

Nigeria’s Super Eagles will step onto the semi-final stage of the Africa Cup of Nations this Wednesday with a distinction no other team in the last four can boast: a perfect record. Five matches played, five victories secured, and a goal tally superior to those of the remaining three contenders underline a campaign that has steadily gathered momentum from the opening whistle.

As they prepare to confront hosts Morocco, Nigeria are the only side among the semi-final quartet still moving strictly from victory to victory at this Africa Cup of Nations. It is a rare achievement in a competition historically defined by tight margins, tactical caution and late twists—and one that may well be unprecedented in Nigeria’s AFCON history at this advanced stage.

Perfect Run, Powerful Statement

From the group phase through to the quarter-finals, the Nigeria Super Eagles have combined defensive assurance with attacking punch, finding the net more often than Morocco and the other semi-finalists. Each outing has added to the sense of inevitability surrounding their progress, with confidence building match by match rather than peaking too early.

Tournament football rarely accommodates such flawless runs. Fatigue, suspensions and the law of averages usually intervene. Yet Nigeria have navigated all five hurdles with composure, suggesting a squad finely tuned both mentally and physically for the decisive week.

Hosts, History and a Heavy Atmosphere

Standing in their way are the Atlas Lions, buoyed by home support and familiar conditions. Morocco’s path to the last four has been less emphatic but no less dangerous, shaped by resilience and tactical discipline. The semi-final therefore sets up as a clash between Nigeria’s flowing momentum and Morocco’s home-driven resolve.

For Nigeria, the challenge is not merely to extend an unbeaten run, but to protect perfection in the most unforgiving phase of the tournament. Victory would not only deliver a place in the final, it would also preserve a sequence that has already etched this Super Eagles team into rare AFCON territory.

Moving From Victory to Victory

As Wednesday approaches, the narrative is clear: Nigeria arrive as the tournament’s most consistent force, the only semi-finalist yet to stumble. Whether that remarkable sequence continues against the hosts will define not just this semi-final, but potentially the entire championship.

One more win, and the Super Eagles will be 90 minutes away from converting an extraordinary, perfect run into continental glory.

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By Kunle Solaja, Cape Spartel in Tangier

Travelling, they say, is the most effective Geography teacher. Nowhere has that lesson been more vivid than in Morocco during the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations, a competition that has doubled as a passport to discovery. Beyond goals and scorelines, the journey has unfolded across landscapes that explain why Moroccans affectionately describe their country as “The Kingdom of Light.”

Thanks to the thoughtful hospitality of the Moroccan National Association of Media and Publishers (ANME), the Africa Cup of Nations became far more than a football assignment. It turned into an excursion—one that carried me to places I would never have imagined visiting under the familiar routines of tournament coverage.

One such return journey on Tuesday led me back to Tangier, the legendary coastal city that has long served as Africa’s gateway to Europe. I arrived confident that I knew Tangier inside out. After all, this was my fourth visit. Its medina, cafés, sea breeze and cosmopolitan history felt familiar. Or so I thought.

Tangier, it turns out, always has another chapter.

Beyond Proximity to Europe

Yes, Tangier is famed as Africa’s closest point to Europe, gazing across the narrow waters at Spain. But the city is far more than a geographical footnote. It is a layered crossroads of continents, cultures and currents—both human and natural. This latest visit peeled back yet another layer, revealing landmarks that had somehow escaped me on previous trips.

The most breathtaking of them all was Cape Spartel, a place locals proudly describe as where two seas shake hands.

A Climb Through Living Landscapes

The journey itself set the tone. A tourist open-roof bus snaked its way up the undulating but impressively well-paved terrain, climbing steadily away from the city. From the elevated seats, Tangier unfolded in moving pictures: stretches of manicured botanical gardens, clusters of camels resting nonchalantly by the roadside, and pockets of small, inviting beaches tucked between rocky outcrops.

With every bend, the air grew cooler and the views wider. The road felt less like a commute and more like a guided lesson in physical geography, ecology and tourism planning—each curve revealing another postcard moment as we ascended toward the summit.

Where Two Seas Meet

Cape Spartel is not merely a scenic lookout; it is a living geography lesson. Here, the deep blue of the Mediterranean Sea meets the vast, restless Atlantic Ocean in a dramatic convergence that feels almost ceremonial. Standing at the edge, you sense movement, history and power—two great bodies of water acknowledging each other before continuing their separate journeys.

From the hilltop overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean flows eastward while the Atlantic pushes west toward the Americas, forming a two-layer exchange with currents moving in opposite directions at different depths. To the naked eye, the Mediterranean appears a calmer, deeper blue, contrasting with the visibly restless Atlantic.

The convergence of two great seas. The darker one is the Mediterranean, and the lighter coloured one is the Atlantic Ocean as viewed by Kunle Solaja

One member of Team ANME, Mamoune Kadiri, pointed to a cliff to my right and calmly noted that it was Spain, less than 14 kilometres away from Morocco and the African continent. In that instant, continents felt closer than ever.

Light, Wind and Memory

One historic feature anchoring the site is the Cape Spartel Lighthouse, a silent sentinel that has guided ships for generations. Around it, a beautifully organised tourist centre blends nature with thoughtful infrastructure, making the site accessible without diluting its raw grandeur.

Cliffs plunge toward the water below, winds whisper stories of ancient sailors, and the horizon stretches endlessly. Tangier, true to character, was windy. I paid the price for inadequate warm clothing, leaving with a cold and catarrh—small souvenirs from a place where the breeze never truly rests.

Yet what struck me most was not just the physical beauty, but the symbolism. Morocco, in calling itself the Kingdom of Light, seems to speak of clarity—of history, identity and place. At Cape Spartel, that light feels both literal and metaphorical, illuminating the meeting of seas, continents and cultures.

As the Africa Cup of Nations continues, the memories will naturally include goals, matches and stadium noise. But for me, one of the tournament’s most enduring legacies will be this rediscovery of Tangier—proof that even familiar destinations can still surprise, and that travel, when given the chance, remains the finest Geography teacher of all.

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