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Published: August 7th 2007
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Fes
The different pottery 4/10/07 Marrakech-->Fes
We caught a 5:00am train to Fes in the morning (we left the boys in Marrakech). Once we got there, and with the help of the guidebook (though we had a bit more trouble this time, because the signs weren’t labeled in French like they are in the other cities), we found a place to stay, dropped our stuff off in the room, and then made our way to the Fes El-Bali which is otherwise known as old Fes. After passing through the Bab Bou Jeloud which is the main entrance we made our way through the medina. I was struck with how different Fes’s medina was to the one in Marrakech. For one, there were a lot less tourists, it was much less crowded, and there wasn’t the abundance of crafty shops that there were in Marrakech. The whole thing had a completely different feel to it. It was slightly more relaxed. We basically just spent our time ‘scoping’ everything out so that when we came back tomorrow we would be ready. We ended up eating dinner at this little restaurant that had rooftop seating, and then we walked back to our hotel which was in the
Fes
The tanneries Ville Nouvelle to catch up on some sleep.
4/11/07 Fes
We began the day by walking through the Mellah (Jewish quarter) and then once again heading to the medina. Our main priority was finding the tanneries. Fes has this awesome series of tourist signs that are color coded and placed throughout the medina. Each of the different colors represented something like gardens or architecture and then at each of the special sites there was a larger sign containing information about it. It was really an excellent system, and the one that we used to find our way to the tanneries. We made it there without too much trouble. We were stopped however on the stairs by the “guard” who told us we had to pay 20dh a piece to continue on. After referring to the guidebook we made our way back up to one of the leather shops where we were able to go to their roof for free to see the tanneries (though the guy who let us up said we wouldn’t have to pay as long as we didn’t take any pictures—of course we snuck some, and as we were leaving he said that the “guard”
was gone that we could take as many pictures as we wanted—for free---ha!). Everything that I had heard or read told me just how bad the small was, how it was almost unbearable, but to tell you the truth, it really wasn’t that bad at all. Perhaps we got there at the least smelly time of the day. Who knows? We made our way back to the shops and the bargaining began once again. I ended up finishing my remaining souvenir shopping (though I could have bought a lot more), and was told on more than one occasion that I bargained like a Berber woman (they are notoriously cheap) which I took as a complement of course (towards the end I was bargaining over a matter of cents, but since I was refusing to take out anymore money (I had already spent way more than I should have) those few cents determined whether I ate dinner or not). We walked back to our hotel to unload and then ended up eating dinner at a pizza place (yes, this was sad for me, but it was the only thing I could afford).
I enjoyed Fes. I am glad that I bought
some stuff in Marrakech though because they just didn’t have the selection in Fes. We felt perfectly safe the entire time we were in Morocco even when it was just us two girls. The people were all very friendly, though one of the things we had to deal with constantly (without stop) was in incessant catcalling and little whispers that the younger men gave us as they passed us (they were constantly trying to get our attention). Sometimes they were quite funny, a large amount of the time they were in French (sometimes Arabic, others English, and even occasionally in Spanish which really puzzled me since I personally think that the two of us are the furthest from resembling the Spanish that you can get), and it just so happens that I am excellent at ignoring things so most of the time it didn’t bother me (it helped that I didn’t always understand what they were saying). I really liked Morocco, though it never really felt like I was in Africa and everything was quite different from what I expected it to be like. There are still so many things I wish I could have seen and done, but they
Fes
The entrance into the Fes Medina will have to wait for my next Moroccan trip.
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