Located just a few minutes off the border of Tangier along the northern African peninsula, is a crack in the cliff side, cleaved open by the relentless rolling waves and whittling by the sharp blades of wind gusting through. The Caves of Hercules earn their name from their supposed origins in Greek mythology, where they sheltered the eternal hero before he set off on his quests. Today, the site is a popular tourist attraction not least because of its mysterious and murky allure. Upon entering, you would come across the lower lagoon that fills in rather quickly with the rise of the tide. This spot is deep enough for a dive off the ledges naturally cut into the caves’ walls, shimmering blue from the reflection of the sapphire waters below.

Venturing deeper, the floor elevates and dries up, opening out into cavernous spaces arched by indented ceilings. The crescent moon marks give the impression of nails dug into the tough mineral but are in fact no product of a mysterious giant. Millstone mining has scarred the caves, these marks the only traces of the trade that robbed the caverns of its treasures. A closer look at the walls will reveal scattered hints of human inhabitation since the caves have been touched by human feet for several thousand centuries. With its roots intertwined in the region’s history, mythology and archaeology, the Caves of Hercules are now charged with the Herculean task of acting as a window to the past and a glimpse into our beginnings.