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Published: January 23rd 2011
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an alleyway in the souks of fes On Saturday morning a bunch of the international students decided to take a day trip into Fes, which is about an hour away by taxi. The ride through the countryside is always a beautiful trip; you never once think about falling asleep.
We arrived in the old part of Fes called the medina around lunchtime. Me, Danni, & my friend Irene decided to grab some lunch & wal around. We spotted a tiny little restaurant about 10ft. away that had delicious food. We also ran into a family from Maryland who had just relocated to Fes because the husband is/was starting a business & is trying to learn Arabic. I thought that was really, really cool. As soon as they left, a group of Canadian tourists from Winnipeg sat down & we traded travel tips for getting around the medina and navigating the souks. It was very refreshing to hear other people speak english!
After lunch we decided to navigate the crowded souks. After a few minutes of walking we decided to take a break because it got to be a little overwhelming being in a cramped market with so many people all inviting you to come to their shop of their restaurant. We found a beautiful square filled with kids playing soccer (football) & other people taking pictures. Unfortunately we couldn't stay long because guys posing as unofficial guides kept trying to get us to buy their services. After that we went back into the souks to take a shot at bartering for souviners. Dani found a little shop that sold miniature drums, & the guy who ran the shop (named Abdul) was very nice & gave her a good price. He proceeded to invite us into his shop to look at everything else he had for sale, which included berber rugs, jewelry, & pottery. He showed us a back room with a seat for us to sit down, which we were a little nervous about going into at first, but we decided to relax & see what he had to offer. Abdul ended up being incredibly nice to us. He pulled out several berber rugs, explained how they were made, & the different types of fabic they consisted of. It was a really interesting presentation- even though it seemed like we were in the shop for several hours. Abdul even invited us to have mint tea, which is a sign of Moroccan hospitality. The rule of thumb is: if someone invites you to have a cup of tea- you accept no matter what. I was nervous at first because I really don't like it, but I acutally really enjoyed the cup of tea that Abdul gave me. I ended up buying a pair of earings for 100 MAD- 10 MAD less than the original price. I felt proud of myself for bartering!
After we left Abdul's shop in the souk, we ended up getting incredibly lost in the maze of shops, restaurants, & homes. Everytime we thought we were going the right way it ended up being a dead end, or some residential area we didn't feel comfortable walking into. We eventually found our way out & sat down on a bench to rest when 2 Moroccan friends of ours came walking by & stopped to chat. I told them of my plan to go to the Marjane (the Arabic version of Walmart) on our way home so I could buy a computer. One of them said that it would be very expensive, & gave me directions to her firend's computer store in Fes. So we took a taxi there, & maybe an hour later I walked out with a brand new netbook. I'm happt to say that it's still working, shows no sign of overheating, & allows me to access the internet in my room! Yay! I was finally able to skype with my parents which made me feel SO much better about the past stressful week. I also got to see my cat & dog which also made me feel better after seeing all the abandoned animals in the streets of Fes.
After leaving the cimputer store in Fes we attempted to find a grand taxi to take us home to Ifrane. Unfortunately none of us spoke French which made it extremely difficult to hail let alone find a cab. We eventually found a guy who spoke spanish- which Irene & Dani both speak, & he was able to point out the grand taxi station. Unfortunately he got into a huge fight with the driver of the grand taxi we were trying to hire; it was so bad that everyone in the streets were staring at them, so we ended up walking away. Luckily we found a guy who told us we could take his friends taxi home. After a brief stop at a gas station, & a stop to drop off the guy who showed us to his friend's taxi, we got dropped off at the gates of Al-Akhawayn. I can't tell you how thrilled we were to be home!
And that's my first adventure into a major Arab city in Morocco. Will try & post pictures soon!
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