Medieval Fez

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Today was one great long day! First, we were super lucky that it had rained yesterday. The average temperatures are usually way over 100 degrees in Fez. It was around 85 degrees which was perfect! Our tour guide for the day was a woman named Samia. Not any woman, a total wise ass! She spent the entire day joking around with everyone which was a treat.

We started our day by visiting the Jewish quarter. I finally got to see a synagogue. The view of Jewish people in Morocco is that they are all really rich and smart. My new Dutch friends had the same opinion. My Canadian grandpa didn’t say much as I think he knows that I am Jewish. Samia tried telling me that religious Jews have sex with a hole in the sheet. I learned in Israel that this is not true. I didn’t disagree with her but when I looked at her with 6 heads… she said; only Moroccan Jews put holes in their sheets, not other Jews…

On to the cooperatives we go. So, I know Morocco overall is a very poor country. I know the unemployment rate is about 20%. Doctors and Engineers are asked to be taxi drivers until things get better. When we visited a place that made pottery that employed over 150 people, I simply got sad. It was a typical sweat shop. Everyone only gets paid on what they finish, which is chump change. Our guide through the coop was suggesting we take pictures of everything, including the workers. What an ass! All these people were crammed into small work spaces hunched over their projects. The amount of work that goes into a simple plate is extraordinary. We even saw that their work is hand painted - with a single horse hair. The mosaic work was tedious and the people that cracked all the pieces looked bruised and beat up. Remind you that it is Ramadan, so no one eats or drinks in this heat! I didn’t take any pictures of this as I didn’t feel that it was right. The prices were extraordinary - similar to a boutique in NYC. The ‘salesman’ tries to guilt you by reminding you what you just saw…

On to the medina we go. Fez has the largest medina in the world. My new family hasn’t been to one yet, so it was quite overwhelming for them. The nice thing is that cars, mopeds and bikes are not allowed in the medina; whereas Marrakech you jump out of the way to say your toes. Samia, our guide is like the mayor. Everyone knew her and she got her way, even with the men. This is the 1st time that I saw a woman in Morocco with a set of balls. I told her to come to NYC as she would fit in just fine.
We visited the monuments, mosques, carpet coop, tannery coop (which stunk and was super depressing), quilts/scarves coop, and I am sure I am forgetting some things here and there… we finally ate at a traditional Moroccan restaurant! I had me some couscous and it was good! Samia hooked me up with a henna lady who gave me some lovely body art (don’t worry mom, it isn’t permanent). All in all, we started at 11am in the median and by 4pm we were all pooped!

Back to Marrakech tomorrow which is about a 7 or 8 hour drive from Fez (I think). So commuting all day… back to the craziest of all the land in Morocco!

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