Fez Tastick

Wow where to begin. We started our journey to Morocco by taking a 35min ferry ride from Tarifa, Spain to Tangier, Morocco. Including ourselves, there were maybe 8 out of the 250+ ferry passengers that were not on the Tarifa - Tangier one day tour, excited to tackle Morocco. After getting through the passport line on the ferry, this required the police to come on board to stamp our passports, we hoped into a taxi and 20mins later we were sitting on a train bound for Fez- a 6hr trip. This entire process was definetly the most hassle free travelling we have expierenced so far. We did not experience the touts that Tangier is so infamous for, although the taxis in the port were waiting for the passengers as soon as you got off of the ferry.

The train ride to Fez was comfortable and by no means do you want to do this in 2nd class, unless the difference of US$4 is going to break your bank. The temperature is in the very high 40s, so A/C is not a topic for debating. However, once the cabin that seats 6 is full, the A/C is absolutely useless and the waterfall of sweat begins its relentless trail from the back of your neck down to the crack of your ass - this only lasted for about 5 of the 6hrs that we were on the train.

Of the Moroccan imperial cities, Fez is the oldest and considered the center of Islamic orthodoxy in Morocco. The medina in Fez is the main attraction and with good reason, it is one of the largest living medieval cities in the world. With an area of 350 hectares containing some 9,400 streets, some only wide enough to fit the skinnest of people and donkies. It is bursting at its seams with people, donkeys and everything else you can imagine. There are no roads so the mode of transporting wood, coca cola, fruit, and anything else you can imagine is by donkey/mule. This alternative transportation provides for a lot of fun when both man/woman and donkey try to make their way through the narrow alleys at the same time - the medina is another world. There are literally thousands of souqs selling everything from textiles, ceramics, bread, copper/silverware to the famous tanneries and leather goods. Incredibly, as one walks through the narrow alley ways, they are oblivious to the fact that behind some of those old ratty looking doors, stands riads fit for kings and queens that would make anyone wish it was there place to call home. If one is unfamiliar with riads, they are traditional houses set around an internal garden/courtyard or pool and normally have a roof top terrace.

Unkown to us when we arrived in Fez, our stay at the Dar Saffarine located in the medina, would go down as our most enjoyable stay ever - after all the trips and places we have stayed and visited over the years. What a great experience, not only did we stay in the medina, but the Dar Safferine is the home to Kate and Alaa ¨the Iraqi¨which provided us with the opportunity to experience so many things that we would otherwise not have been able to see or do. Kate, a graphic designer and Alaa, a Phd in arabic architecture purchased this riad that at the time had not been lived in for 35 years and whose courtyard contained approx 100 years worth of garbage. They undertook an immenese task of renovating the riad to its original condition and as it is now, words cannot explain this riad, it is absolutely breath taking. As we write this block from Marrekesh, and having already checked into our riad in the Marrekesh medina, we feel very comfortable is saying that the Dar Safferine is out of this world compared to other riads we have seen and stayed in.

We were immediately treated like family and the housekeeper and home guardian, of course named Mohammed, keep us laughing and smiling the entire time. Our first 1/2 day was spent walking through the medina stopping frequently to retrace our steps knowing that getting lost in the maze of 9,400 streets could result in hours of trying to make our way back. It is highly recomended to hire a guide if one is going to go off the beaten track aka¨the lonely planet and tourist marked walking tour¨to see what lies down the next alley.

Our first morning we spent going to the tanneries and observing the process of dying the hides of goats, cattle, and camel from the tannery terraces. The process at the tanneries has not changed in centuries and it has been said that the tanneries produce a smell that even the roughest of people have a hard time with - included in the ingredients that are in the mud brick vats used to dye the leather are pigeon poo, cow urine, animal brains and fats (no concern is given to the unhygenic working environment). Needless to say, we did not venture down from the terraces overlooking the tanneries to the main floor where the dying process was being undertaken - hence we did not find the smell to be that bad - some have actually questioned our sense of smell after making such comments but we think our noses are just fine.

The remainder of the day was spent with Alaa and his (2) technicians visiting riads that Alaa has been contracted to renovate for foreigners. Recently there has been a huge influx of foreign investors purchasing decrept riads, renovating them and flipping them for (3x) their initial investment. Iraqi is the man for these renovations, and it did not take long for us to see. While making our way through the medina to several of his projects, he as well as the techs and us were dragged into peoples riads asking if he wanted to purchase them. It was a great experience to be able to go into peoples riads ¨homes¨and see how every day Moroccans live in the medina. To finish off a busy day, we hired a tour guide for 3 hours to take us through the medina and to a ceramic factory outside of the medina.

Having spent the better part of a day and a half in the medina we headed into the New City which is polar opposite the medina. Apartment buildings are the norm, huge grocery stores, ¨men-only¨cafes, internet, cars etc exist. That night ourselves, Iraqi, Kate and 3 other guests headed into the new city for dinner. The following night the house keeper cooked an incredible Morocan dinner for the 7 of us and the rest of the night we spent drinking wine and chilling out on the terrace. Alcohol in a Muslim country - not a problem at all, in fact the alcohol section of the grocery store was packed full of locals - never under estimate what goes on behind close doors. Must also mention that the breakfasts were to die for.

We could ramble on and on about our stay in Fez and our time at Dar Safferine, and unfortunately the pics will not tell half the story.................we strongly suggest going to Fez, staying at Dar Safferine and having a once in a lifetime experience.

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