Fes, Morocco

 

For the past 20 years or so, Tom and I have had vague ideas about traveling to Morocco. When we brought Tommy and Zeph to Spain in 1997 we bought a book on Morocco, intending to include Morocco on our itinerary, but we didn't have enough vacation time. That same book came in handy in 2013 as we made plans to visit our nephew Mike who is serving in the Peace Corp in Berkane, Morocco.
Here's a link to a better map:
http://www.pagehalffull.com/pirieworld/2002-map.jpg
Since Berkane is not considered 'picturesque', we decided to visit Fes before heading off to Berkane. We were able to book tickets from Madrid to Barcelona to Fes, a strange routing, but the only flights available. The leg from Barcelona to Fes was a typical Ryanair debacle; loud and angry ticket holders adamant that they weren't going to pay to check over sized luggage, screaming children, erroneous signage....note to self: never travel on Ryanair.
Fes was astonishing and a monumental contrast to northern Europe. It's not far as the crow flies, but it's another continent, another culture and another language. As I packed, I thought about how warm it was going to be (in the 90's); I had no idea that more than 90% of women would wear traditional dress, including head scarves and that my skirts would not only brand me as a tourist, but subject me to leering. As a result, my one pair of jeans got a lot of use. Interesting that most men wore western dress. I saw a few women with full hijabs, and many different types of headscarves.

The medina was a real labyrinth; the streets and passages were 3-5 feet wide. Hardly any right angles to be seen. No cars of course, just 'medina taxis' like the one below.

this is a hammam or bath house

The medina stretched for miles, mostly multi story buildings with the minarets of the mosques clearly visible.  Each 4 blocks there was a mosque and a water fountain.

The muezzin's cries rang out 5 times a day, sounding like a combination of a small motorcycle going at high speed and a hungry cow. There was at least one muezzin that had a beautiful voice, though.

The handicrafts were beautiful. I saw highly skilled crafts people making astonishingly lovely carpets, mosaics, copper items, pottery and jewelry. I had this bizarre idea that I wanted to get into importing Moroccan crafts! Luckily, Tom's good sense prevailed.

rug in the middle went home with me!

The leather works were strange and disconcerting although beautiful in their own way. The dye vats are located next to the river, where the hides are washed, people bathe and the laundry is done by hand. 

And the architecture of the mosques and medersas! So lovely and delicate.

can you see the date on this? I think it's 1360

We had the great fortune to find a wonderful guide, Najib Kahack, a kind, patient and wonderful Berber man who took us under his wing and showed us around Fes. He even invited us to his home for lunch. His wife made the most wonderful preserved lemon and chicken dish. We got to see a DVD of his daughter's recent wedding. The wedding lasted 3 days and the wedding party went through numerous changes of clothing.

wedding jewelry-purchased by groom for bride

Najib's daughter's feet/henna ceremony

The food stalls in the medina were fascinating. I elected not to try the camel meat though.

This means "camel meat here"

bought dates and almonds here-delicious!

camel meat with camel fat. A delicacy!

I wanted to include these pictures because they illustrate the mystery and beauty of Fes, Morocco. This wasn't the only place we went in Morocco, though, as our next blog post will reflect.