Advertisement
Published: June 10th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Fez Medina
Fez is a really nice town. The Medina is lived in and has alot of character. In Marakech the Medina seems to exist soley to sell to us tourists. Fez is for everyone. Greetings all.
I have been reliably informed by writers in that this is infact a French keyboard and not an Arab one. My appologise to all Arabic people for associating them with those French. Those of you who know me will understand that is a joke. Ive met loads of French in Morocco and they have all been great value and fun to be with.
So I got into a petit taxi Marrakeshsaying I wanted to go to the bus station for Fez. "Why dont you go by train?" was the drivers question. Indeed why not. Trains always turn out to be better more comfortable experiences. Unless of course it is Burma qnd you qre buggered either way.
I digress. In my compqrtment to start I had Mounir. Q french man but with Moroccan roots who is doing work experience from Uni in Casablanca. Like mqny French he was firey and felt greatly offended that older generations in France dont regard him as French despite being born there. But he did love France and really hoped their football team does well in the World Cup. But qdmitted that England had a better chance. Ha! An interesting guy who
was very pqtient with my horrific French and took time to translate the Arabic he and others would sometimes drift into from French and back again. All the best in Cassa and back in Lille sir.
The train to Fez takes about 7 or 8 hours and people would drift in and out as we picked up and dropped off. In Rabat Abdul joined the train. Abdul was of course doing some frindly business fr his leqther shop in the Medina in Fez. But his style and open friendly approach and slowly, slowly sell is what I find best in Moroccans. I know to the people here I am a rich man and so to be angry with them for doing what must be done to survive is just plain wrong. Be wary of the quiick sell but go with the slow. Moroccans I feel bargain and haggle witho each other as much as they do tourists. I got his number and promised to call him.
Of course I did no such thing. Yet but n my way back through Fez I,ll make the effort. Just couldnt face it yesterday as my stomach is still not the best.
Lovely Blue...
Chefchaouans' clour is light blue. Firstly brought by the Jews in the early 15th century fleeing persecution in Spain. The habit has stuck and it makes for a beautiful town. UPon qrriving at Fez I fould out the same Qfricqn music festival I am thinking of seeing in Essoura also tours to other plqces. Got to see a Soufi group of singers that stqrt with the "Alar Alloo Akgar"/ "God is great" call to pray and really build it to a fast beat exciting rythm using only their voices. I was very interesting.
Unfortunqtely due to the festival rooms were at a premium and I didnt have a booking. The cheapest I could find calling around and using my change was one fr 100 dollars. Way too much. The guy at Pension Batha offered to call his freind who maybe had a bed in his house. Cool I though a cheap night and I can hack the cockroaches and dirt until the morning. I couldnt have been more wrong.
The, rather limply named Maison turned out to be almost a palace. An old Moroccan Riad with a huge covered central courtyard with the family TV taking pride of place, sat a little off center from the middle of the courtyard: living room is to small a word so courtyard will do. The fqmily were great they had hot
Overlooking Fez
On my way back south through Fez Chris and I climbed a mountain overlooking it. After getting chased by savage dogs we eventually got to the top and were rewarded by views like this. whilst the other side of the mountain you can see the start of the desert. Incredible. For those who go to Fez and want this view then climb to the top of the hill with the radio/cellphone towers on it. You won't regret it. showers, gqve me all meals and really took cqre of me. I also met Alex a you_ng German student who is living with them studying Arabic for three weeks as he waits for his graduation ceremony from York Uni in the UK. His Arabic was excelent as was his properly British accent or is acsent? Help with that one please! I was invited back when I head back through Fez which I certainly will. Marrakesh is great especially the main square the Djemma el Fnar. But Fez has a really good vibe a lived in feel and a fantastic Medina. For someone who doesnt like most cities I dont think I could give it much higher marks. Some good old fashioned British country pubs perhaps. But that would involve alchol and in Morocco booze is under the tabble or in plush bars.
Northern Morocco is very different in scenqry thqn the South. Around Marrakesh it is the foreigners view of scrub almost desert whilst up north it is quite green. No tropical rain forest with pythons, sloths and Oragutans climbing creepers up 100 foot trees mind. More like Olive trees and cedar. The closest I hqve been to this
Where's the desert?
Morocco isn't a land purely of deserts. The countryside from Marrakech Northwards is covered in wheat, Olives and sprawling plains. Much like the Meseta in Spain. scenqry before was the Messeta in Spain but whilst the Meseta is mostly flat and endless the land here rolls into small mountains quite near by. Covered in wheat, tree groves in gullies with occasional flocks of sheep. Always accompanied, rather bizarely, by two or three cows a mule and a sheppard. I guess the sheppard is the unbizare part of the equation.
Anyway my stomach has forced me to take shelter in Chefchaouen. Situated in the Rif mountains between Tangiers and Fes. I really like this place. Why? Well that I will keep for another post after some good digestion. Hopefully in the stomach as much as in the mind. All is good or better. Take care and postcqrds to all who email me your addresses and if you think I already have your address. Please safely assume I have lost them. All. Cheerio for now.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.142s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 11; qc: 67; dbt: 0.0667s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb