Slept in till 7am which is better than 415. At least I feel rested. The shower was less than refreshing. The plumbing is not perfect. The shower drain backs up so it’s like a pool. Which is gross. I have shower shoes but water is to my ankles. The pressure is ok but also lacking. I am clean, at least. Although I have to listen to Emily complain, though I don’t blame her.
Once we are all dressed and ready we head down for our breakfast. We get a private breakfast for the most part because the Riad manager asks when we want to eat and sets that up. Their is only six rooms here and I have yet to see any of the other guests. So, breakfast. We get coffee with hot milk, fresh squeezed OJ, croissants, rolls, two kinds of jelly, honey, cheese, Moroccan fried bread (my fave!), cocoa for the coffee, and I thinks that’s it. It’s a continental breakfast plus more, really. And it’s a ten out of ten. I roll away from the table stuffed. Marika loves croissants so this style suits her.
Mochtar, our driver, picked us up at 830. Our guide Azin was with him. Today’s event is a tour of the Fès Médina. I had toured the Fès Médina back in 1974 so this is a trip down memory lane. I have sharp and vivid memories form then. Mostly the smells are in my brain. The spice vendors were all bunched together and walking down the medina between them was intoxicating. The scent of all these spices was crazy. There is the smell of thousands of dirty people and the burros walking through. Hard to forget that.
Maybe a little background might help here. The Medina is the marketplace. Each town has a medina some have the Casbah above too. The Casbah is the fortress, usu above the Medina, and is a walled fort. Fès Médina is the biggest in Morocco. The old medina was built in the 9th century and the expansion, the “new” medina was built in the 1400s. See, new. Also some building from the 1700s.
Inside the walled medina are hundreds if not thousands of buildings, most 3 to 5 stories in height. The streets between them are narrow. 9th century narrow. Wide enough for burro and human foot traffic. Or small wagons. And the occasional vendor stall in the street. Though most stalls are in the first floor street fronts. What else could you need. So, no car traffic. And the buildings are not laid out in a grid so the streets twist and turn and end like a rabbit warren. No street names, so directions, no maps. If you don’t speak Arabic you can be lost.
In terms of streets, the worlds thinest street is here. Not wide enough to pass someone shoulder to shoulder. You have to turn a 180 and become very close friends with a Moroccan. Thin. I walked it in 1974 and again this visit. No one in my party was too impressed. I think it’s really cool. One of the oldest streets in the world at 1300 years, and I walked it.
My overall impression of the Medina? Well, a lot has changed in the last 40 years vs the last 1300. The medina is much cleaner. I can see the hand of government involved. It’s not bad, but it’s not the same. For instance, I saw waste cans, and people use them. I saw people cleaning the streets. There were no more ground level food vendors. Forever vendors in the streets versus first floor stalls. All vendors are far more welcoming of tourists, but no worries, they stil try to cheat you. Nicely. Oh yeah, all burros wear diapers now. No shit. Pun intended. So there is a smell memory taken away. Ok, it’s an improvement. In short, the Medina has lost all the dirty and disgusting parts. I am sure it increases foot traffic from tourists and makes more money. But, I do feel a loss.
There are some new parts too. All fresh, clean and nice. In those parts they have put up a roof between the buildings. Keeps all dry and clean smelling. But, it feels like a mall. I don’t travel 6000 to go to the mall.
We did wander through the Medina almost all day. But we had a few specific stops.
Our first detour went to a pottery manufacturer. The make the usual clay pots and cookware and dishes. The make mosaic tiles also mosaic furniture and fountains. We were able to see the manufacturing process. Almost all is as done for thousands of years. And all made by hand. The potter still uses his foot to spin the wheel. Pottery painted with a brush by an artist. No mechanics. Even the kiln until recently was fueled by burning olive pits. The Moroccan epa put an end to that. Now the kiln is electric.
Fès is famous for leather and leather products. They tan all kinds. The favorite for them is Camel and Goat kid leather. There is tannery in the Medina which has existed for a thousand years. Here they dye and tan without chemicals. No superfind cleanup site. The tanning bays are full of pigeon shit and water. Lots of ammonia in it. People bring bags of collected poop to market every Friday to sell. All due colors are natural – indigo for blue, saffron for orange, etc. Dyes found in nature. In the US all is chemical based. The outcome, the products they produce are inexpensive so we win.
The tannery has a store but it is not theirs. It’s a cooperative of all the different artisans making leather products. Of course that gives the vendors less incentive to make a deal.
We had the usual lunch. Average in value and taste. Our guide took us there. These guides get a kick back from every place they take you so they have little incentive to go anywhere else. I don’t mind but with food I like to find the new and different. Of course, Moroccan restaurants serve cou cous, tagine and kebabs. Different meats for variety. So, always the same.
Our guide, like all others, takes us places to get good pictures. Lots of mosques and gates and doors. Which are all embellished and make good photos. But after the tenth mosque or gate you get tired. We have begun to fake taking pictures to make guide Azin happy and get him to move on.
The first school in Morocco was founded around 900 by Fatima herself here in Fes. It’s in the Medina and is still standing and in use. Also her is the first university in the known world, before Oxford, Bologna, any in Europe. Sadly, current Moroccans seem to not be any better off for having been first.
I know it may seem wrong but I stopped and bought some chewy peanut candy from a street vendor. It’s good and I was hungry and after passing the candy vendors 10 times, I had to buy some. Large container was about 50 cents.
All the things you need for life are for sale here. The butcher shops always fascinate me. The meats all fresh, there are some flys but no stink. And they have no refrigerators. But they carry all that you need. It comes in fresh every day so I guess it’s ok. I’m not a buyer in their stalls. Emily got to see a live chicken meeting it’s end. Now that’s fresh. She was no pleased.
About 530 we went back to the hotel to relax. Said goodbye to our guide Azin. We stopped at the laundry to pick up. Something good, only $30 for the load of our clothes. I paid 200$ for laundry in Spain. Ouch. I like the prices here.
So we relaxed. Was nice. Tonight, our head guide, Youssef, is taking us out to dinner. Our last night in Morocco. He and I need to settle up on the charges too. That’s the primary reason he is taking us out, I think. Though he is a nice guy but he does coordinate all these things for a living.
Our driver Muchtar came to pick us up around 730. The restaurant was close by and everyone met there. There was entertainment tonight. Traditional Moroccan music, two different groups. The place was packed. I personally feel I could do without the overload music. Not my style. They were both entertaining and really tried to include the audience too. But I did not really enjoy the music. The two belly dancers and the magician were fun. Though the magician is not ready for prime time.
Sadly the food was only average at best. After a week of Moroccan food, I know good tagine when I get it. Not it.
We said our goodbyes at about 1030 and went back to the hotel to pack. Long day again with lots of walking. Ed? Ready for sleep.