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After a pleasant flight from Seville to Fes, we found ourselves in the oldest and largest pedestrian-only city in the world, referred to as “the Medina” in old Fes. Our place was a renovated home, named a “dar,” which we rented for our stay and had completely to ourselves. It was several levels built around an open living area/ small courtyard, and had a lovely rooftop patio. A true gem of a place, and looked after by a very kind woman who basically did everything- cooked, cleaned, painted henna, took us to the hammam, etc. and all with a smile. After settling in at our place (which I must say I was really surprised was so nice considering the conditions in the Medina that we saw on our walk there), we spent the next three days exploring the market, which was a bit overwhelming at first. We actually hired a guide for our first day to help us get orientated (a first for all of us), as it truly is a maze. By day three we were doing pretty well, but I think that is partly because we had that first day to explore with the guide without needing to keep
looking at a map every 10 seconds.
It is hard to describe the Medina. It was every extreme you could imagine. It was a slum, but also a bustling, and thriving market; it had every smell imaginable coming from every conceivable corner; it was jam packed with all sorts of food, clothing, and handicrafts; it had one of the nicest hotels I have ever seen, but also extreme poverty, and people pretty much everywhere; there were lots of donkeys carry goods that you always had to be wary of as they would come flying around a corner. We learned quickly that “belek belek” meant get the hell out of the way. We saw tanneries, and textile factories, and people making pots, and carving wood, and tons and tons of food, fish, and meat for sale, including brains, legs, and gigantic testicles. It was madness, and at times totally majestic.
We found it was quite chilly at night and that we had to cover up when went for dinner, but it was sunny and warm in the day. Bartering was a bit overwhelming, and we ended up buying most of our souvenirs at a co-op outside the Medina where
Mineret
The green tiles are specific to Fezprices were fair-trade and fixed and we didn’t have to worry about it.
One of our best experiences was the hammam. If you remember, Colin and I experienced the hammam (or bath house) in Turkey. The one in Morocco was not nearly so opulent, but was a much more interesting experience for the both of us. While Turkey’s hammams are over the top gorgeous, Morocco’s are designed for everyday use still, and are threadbare. The one Claudia and I visited was full of local women. The woman who took Claudia and me to the hammam was the housekeeper mentioned above. She was the Aunt of the dar’s manager, and Claudia and I especially enjoyed meeting her, even though she spoke no English or French, and we no Arabic, as she scrubbed, rubbed, and massaged us for hours, laughing and joking, and also gave us small “spa” gifts of our own so we could recreate the experience at home. It was totally unique and wonderful… although not so unique as Colin’s experience, which included some tossing, wrestling, flipping, and slapping as well as scrubbing. Apparently he and Trevor got tossed around by a little Moroccan man before they got scrubbed!
All in all, Morocco was fascinating, but we only got a small taste of one small area in one city. We’ll have to go back to get a better picture.
Oh, I still can’t believe how many times we said we were cold while we were in Africa!
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