Fabulous Fez

After our treat of “couscous Friday,” we left immediately to arrive at the train station for our 2 ½ hour trip to Fes. First class train riding is always fun and an adventure. We sat with two young Moroccan men and a couple from the Netherlands; again, luckily, all spoke English. The scenery from Rabat to Fes was spectacular – very reminiscent of Tuscany. There were lush green rolling hills, with olive, lemon and orange trees dotting the landscape.

If you measure the size and complexity of medinas on a scale of 1 to 10, Rabat is a 1, Marrakesh is a 7, and Fes is a 25! Almost 200,000 Fassis (people from Fes) call this maze of more than 9,500 twisting alleys, blind turns and hidden souks home, while tourists call it one of the most mind-boggling places in Morocco. The city seems suspended in time between the middle ages and the modern world.

By our request, the hotel had a driver meet us at the train station and take us to our charming new home, the Riad Fes Medina. The owner immediately greeted us with mint tea and cookies.

The Riad looking down to the atrium from our room on the third floor.

We ventured out on our own for a few hours, scrupulously memorizing our return route! We ate dinner at the Café Clock where Harold had a camel burger and I had a falafel.

Harold shows us his camel burger and coke.

After a sound night’s sleep (interrupted only by the ever present call to prayers at about 5 AM – loud enough to jolt us awake), we had breakfast and met our guide, Lounes. He took us around for the next five hours as we wended our way through the medina.

We visited:

 -  The Batha Museam

  -   Medersa el-Attarine (a school founded in 1325)

The niche that faces Mecca where the students prayed

-      Medersa Bou Inania (a theologic college founded in 1350)

-      Tanneries – the most amazing sight! In the heart of the leather district, you can get to a vantage point to observe men in pits, using natural products (henna, saffron, mint and indigo) to dye goat, lamb, cow and camel leather. This is the same method used for millennium and the job is passed from father to son.

The Tannery

-          Souks selling leather, copper, silver, scarves, shoes, pottery, carpets and every kind of fruit, vegetable and meat imaginable

You can buy chickens or a goose for dinner tonight.

Crowded with people and donkeys on a Saturday afternoon.

One of thousands of rows of souks in the medina in Fes.

-          Carpet store  where we watched women making silk carpets

I help make the silk carpet (of course, they asked me for money afterwards)

-          Argon store where we saw how they make argon oil

-          Boujeloud Jardins – the beautiful public gardens

-          Zaouia Moulay Idriss II shrine – non-muslims cannot enter but we peeked in and saw the tomb and shrine of Moulay Idriss II, the founder of Fes

-          Seffarine – metal workers make tin, silver and brass pieces

Handmade silver and brass pieces

By this time, we were exhausted and happy to sit at an outdoor café and enjoy a delicious meal (couscous with chicken, raisins and vegetables and a meat tajine with prunes and vegetables). Of course, this was served with lots of fresh bread, lentils and olives. All this with a large bottle of water plus tip was $12. The experience PRICELESS!

Delicious lunch and fantastic people watching at outdoor cafe

We then meandered back to the hotel, drank some wine we had brought with us (difficult to find wine stores in a Muslim country, but the Moroccan wine is actually excellent!), watched a strange Julia Roberts/Brad Pitt movie subtitled in Arabic, then went to sleep.

After breakfast this morning, armed with a map and GPS, we walked through the medina until about 1:30, leaving us enough time for a pizza for lunch before our train; however, the pizza couldn’t be ready in enough time, so we left and settled for two scoops of chocolate ice cream (our first in Morocco) at the train station. The ride “home” (and it does feel like home after three weeks here) was uneventful. We were home in plenty of time to eat dinner and exchange stories with the other volunteers about their weekend trips.

In parting, we wish everyone a Happy Easter, although it didn’t feel much like the holiday here.