A Moroccan port located in the Strait of Gibraltar, Tangier has been a strategic point between Africa and Europe since the time of the Phoenicians. On the hillside, its medina with whitewashed buildings includes the Dar el Makhzen, a former palace of sultans that has now become a museum of ancient Moroccan objects. Occupying a former Moorish-style consulate dating from 1821, the American Legation Museum, also in the medina, traces the history of early diplomatic relations between the United States and Morocco.