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Published: August 6th 2007
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Camel for Sale?
Nothing wasted, nothing gained! We took the train from Marrakech (southern city) to Fez (northern city) and saw the cities of Casablanca, Rabat (capital city), Menkes from afar, arid regions, lush countryside, farms fenced in by cactus, glimpses of the Atlantic Ocean, more satellite dishes than we could count, and two camels! A time to relax before visiting Morocco's first Imperial City, Fez, the ancient capital and centre of religious and cultural life in Morocco. The city with a hat named after it!
Not completely unexpected, the trip took much longer than anticipated. Due to the Prophet's birthday, the Mouloud, which is the fourth largest religious holiday, Moroccans and Pilgrims from North Africa travel across Morocco like we planned to do two days prior to the festivities! While it gave us the chance to get to know our compartment mates and to practice our French (including Papa Canuck!), we soon realized that views of the countryside and the comfort of our First Class compartment were at the peril of overcrowded trains with standing room only and no escape from our compartment!
After 8.5 hours on the train, we took a taxi, arrived at our exquisite hotel, Riad Fes, and enjoyed a wonderful chicken
View of Part of Expansive Medina
Fes, ancient Imperial Capital of Morocco, is the most complete medieval city of the Arab World. Entire city of Fes is a UNESCO world heritage site!Each district has a mosque, hammam, fountain,communal bakery, and koran school for preschoolers.There are over 350 mosques and approximately 250,000 residents within its walls! tagine with lemons and Moroccan salads. Lovely public spaces with indoor courtyards, pools of water, terraces overlooking the medina, wonderful Moroccan hospitality, sounds of live musician playing the lute, and a room with traditional Moroccan decor.
After a good night's sleep and yummy Moroccan breakfast, including breads with homemade fig jam and orange marmalade, we headed off with our guide, Idriss, for the day; thankfully, or we would never have made it back to the Riad for a lamb tagine with almonds and oranges! High walls, narrow alleyways in a maze that make Marrakech feel like a walk in the park!
Luckily, unlike Marrakech, where bicycles and motorcycles clash or crash with donkeys, mules and pedestrians, Fes' medina is only travelled by Fes residents, donkeys, mules, and the odd tourist! The souks are authentic and reflect the traditional lifestyle that exists today. Unlike Marrakech, Fes has not been spoiled by tourism, so no hassles here, which is welcome relief from the hustle and bustle of Marrakech! Although, not as much fun as Marrakech, our guide brought the history of the city to life which dates back to the 9th century! Serious time-travelling here!
Touring the grocery stalls
Grocery Stalls Appealling to the Eye!
Pleasure to browse hassle-free souks! Olives are green, pink and black. Live bunnies and chickens butchered in stalls, live snails are gathered after rain and sold in souks! was interesting to say the least. Camel meat , live snails, sheep heads, shark are just some of the delicacies offered in the markets. Unfortunately, all Islamic religious sites are not accessible by non-muslims, other than discreet peeks into open doorways! We toured the first music conservatory in Morocco and a madrasa, former dormitories for students attending religious or scientific colleges.
A highlight for us fans of the Amazing Race was to visit the leather tanneries. Sheep and lamb, goat, cow and camel hides are dyed with natural dyes made from violets(purple), poppies(red), saffron(yellow), henna(brown), and mint leaves (green) as they have been done for centuries. Hides are first soaked in a soup of pigeon droppings, nothing is wasted! While the smell at the tanneries is infamous, the Travelling Canucks benefited from stuffy noses, no need for mint leaves here!
By car, our guide took us to a ceramic pottery cooperative where we viewed the processing of the clay, the making of tiles, the firing in the kilns and the glazing of tiles and pottery. Olive pits leftover from the production of olive oil are used to fuel the kilns. The cutting of tiles and the making of
One of 1500 Donkeys and Mules
Thankfully no bicycles or mopeds in this medina, only fourpeds! Much safer to walk, with obvious hazards, which are collected and used for fertilizer. mosaic tables and fountains was interesting! We also toured the new city, saw fortresses and palaces and panoramic views of the medina from atop surrounding hills.
Our second day in Fes was one of relaxation. We enjoyed mint tea in the Riad's courtyard, enjoyed a Moroccan buffet lunch at the former palace hotel, Sofitel Palais Jamai Fes Hotel, which is an elegant resort hotel perched on the hillside overlooking the picturesque medina. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Riad and packed our bags in preparation for an early departure by train to Rabat for a one night stay.
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Kelly
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hey ali! sounds like you've been having a great time! it hasn't been nearly as interesting over here, but at least we had a break from school. we'll be missing you tomorrow when we go back to school. you're so lucky to stay in Europe for another week! ttyl <3 kelly ps i hope you remember to send me a postcard! =P