A bit more about Morocco


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Africa » Morocco » Fès-Boulemane
January 26th 2008
Published: January 26th 2008
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Hi again,
Sorry to have been off so long - I'm in the middle of exams, thus no time to write about holidays!
It's good to dream sometimes..

Right, so I recall I wanted to talk a bit more about Morocco, and Fès.
I know the city pretty well, having been there twice, and the last time with a fassi family - the best way to discover a place!

Fès is not one of the major towns in Morocco, only considering wealth and inhabitants - but it is one of the major cultural towns, if not the major one in the whole country!
Tourism is only developing there now - people generally associate Morocco with heat and the sea and go either to Tanger, Rabat or Agadir!
Fès is the complete opposite - a little but attractive city in the middle of the country, near to the Atlas Mountains.
NEVER Go there during the summer, peaks of temperatures can go until 40°, at least. If you are, like me, of a Nordic type, you will not bear it....
I think the best times to take a trip there is either april to may (a bit rainy but agreeable temperatures) or september to november.

Fès is known for its huge Festival of Sacred Music (in may). I've personally not been there at this time but heard a lot about it.
Loads of things to see: the Al Qarawiiyne Mosque and Library, the Moulay Idriss Mosque, les "tanneries" (sorry, I do not find the English word) and the famous Babs (doors) around the Médina.
Its médina is the biggest and best preserved one of Morocco - a real pleasure to walk through it, and you get rarely lost (the board of tourism is developing a system of indicators, to orientate tourists, so that you know at all times where you are). *

It is organised in thematic zones (the district of spices, district of jewellers, district of cupper items etc).
I'll save some pictures of the biggest doors of the médina, so that you can get a better idea

Apart from the Médina, not much to see- Fès is developing HUGELY right now (note: the spouse of actual king - Muhammad the Sixth, is from Fès and lobbying to make it a hotspot of the country), above all the newest districts - in the south of the city, including the district around the royal palace.
Huge streets with loads of hotels, western-type coffee shops and McDonalds etc.
It's quite nice but not at all as charming as The old town.

What else? Fès is a central point of its region - just go there by car! It is absolutely necesssary if you wish to drive around a bit. For example, Sidi Harazem is only about half an hour by car - a source of warm water, known for its quality and positive impacts on health (there is also a huge swimming pool there).
Volubilis is about one hour by car to the West, and include the biggest Roman Ruines in the whole Maghreb.




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