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A fez in Fes
See, you really can buy a fez in Fes!
Tom Griffith The Medina of Fes is one of the largest still-functioning medieval cities in the world. In fact, and this probably sounds more impressive than it is, the old part of Fes is the world's largest contiguous car-free zone in an urban area. So stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
Sitting in a valley north of the Middle Atlas mountains, Fes has long been the heart of Morocco. It was founded back in the 700s, when Islam arrived in the area, and for ten years back about a thousand years ago it was the world's largest city. The medina of Fes, or Fes El Bali, is a massive, heaving, crowded clutter of 9400 alleyways, over 300 mosques, and countless merchants, craftspeople and scammers going about their business. It is incredibly easy to get lost in the tiny lanes, as souk after souk drags you further into the heart of the Fes El Bali. Every few minutes you are forced to jump out of the way as yet another mule or donkey comes charging down the way, its cargo of soft-drink bottles or cement bags perilously swinging from side to side. On every corner a greasy guide sidles up
Fes many years ago...
A photo of a much younger me standing in front of Fes as it looked back in 1982...courtesy of my Dad next to you, offering to show you a good jewellery shop, a stinking tannery, the Henna market, or a centuries-old madrasa. Silver-tongued storekeepers invite you in to see their wares, sweet-talk you as you browse, and then feign complete frustration when you decline to buy. The next day you come to the same shop, and the guy who was angry with you the day before smiles, and is as easygoing as can be once more, because if you go in a second time he
knows he has you.
Fes has been there and done that. The merchants of this city were haggling, trading, bartering and selling way before most countries were born. Every shopkeeper has their trick - a commission agent to lure in the tourists, a toothy grin and a loud, 'Hello friend!' as you walk past, or sometimes even just pretending to not care whether you buy or not. The bargaining ploy used by the guy I bought sandals from yesterday was to not even bargain at all. He simply gave me a price, and said that was his set price, for tourists and Moroccans alike. he refused to budge even 10 dirhams ($1.50), and when I
Donkey above Fes
A bloke riding his donkey down the hill into Fes said that this was Morocco, he
had to bargain, he said, 'All Moroccans are different. I am the only Moroccan who doesn't bargain'. And so I reluctantly paid his first price. Either he was very honest, or he was a crafty bugger. Either way, it was a nice pair of sandals.
When the craziness of the Fes El Bali all gets too much, it is pleasant to retreat into one of the vast numbers of cafes and watch the world go by whilst sipping on a steaming-hot glass of mint tea. Moroccan coffeeshops differ greatly from their Egyptian counterparts, except for the fact that both are entirely male-dominated. Whilst the Egyptians love to drink a super-sugary small glass of black tea, play backgammon, and smoke sheesha, the Moroccans like a tall glass of super-sugary green tea filled to the brim with mint leaves (remember what they do? See the blog on Aswan), watch the world go by, and smoke cigarettes. No, unhappily, sheesha is not a major pastime here, which is probably good news for my lungs.
Suze and I managed to find a lovely hotel room when we got here, shame that the two nights we stayed
One of the Babs
One of the Babs, or gateways, of the Fes El Bali were when the locals decided to rip up the flagstones in the lane outside our window, and noisily re-lay them between the hours of 10pm and 6am. During the day we wandered, bartered and browsed our way along the myriad alleys, and, while I exercised some modicum of restraint, Suze allowed herself to be taken hostage in a silver shop. Fortunately for me, she has restricted herself to small items so far, but I am sure that by the time we hit Burkina Faso, I will be carrying an extra laundry bag full of rugs, shoes, jewellery and tops.
Today we press on with our southwardish journey through Maroc, on to Casablanca to try and organise our visas for Mauritania. From there,
insh'allah, we head on to more souks and medina action in Marrakesh.
Oh, and by the way - the Fez (as in the hat) was invented in Greece and has nothing to do with Fes, the city. But you can buy them here. But then, you can buy pretty much anything here...
And a final word...this is actually my second visit to Morocco, as I came here with my family a full quarter-century ago, in
Through the archway
Looking down on Fes from the ruined citadel above the city 1982. I wasn't aware that I had visited Fes before, but yesterday Dad sent me a photo of a very young me standing in front of the city. I have included it for nostalgic value. Enjoy!
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John
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Interesting
Interesting blog! I hope I get the opportunity to visit Fez as well one day...