When driving from Rabat to Fez, the road is one of the several tollways in Morocco, not expensive, but very well maintained. And we loved the beautiful scenery.
Just when you drive into the city, you first pass the new part.
The old medina forms almost a separate city within a city, the road to which leads through several major gates.
We managed to arrive in Fes well before dark and that was important. The Riad we booked was inside the medina walls (again!), which meant leaving the car and hoping to find the place on our own. On the map the parking place seemed very close to the riad, however finding the right way proved to be more difficult than we expected. After asking around, the two local guys volunteered to walk us to the riad. Countless alleys and turns later, I started to get nervous, because time wise it felt like we should already get there, but the guys just kept on walking. Luckily, about 5 min later, we arrived to our destination, without me having to freak out completely. Now, I must say that walking in an unknown direction in the maze of completely empty alleys with two strange guys wasn't exactly fun. Imagine about 15 min walk through this...
The riad owners were very welcoming, and asked if we would like some dinner. Since we didn't see any place to eat on the way, in fact we didn't even see shops during the entire time we walked to the riad, we decided that it would probably be best to stay in and have dinner here. Some reviews mentioned that the food was good and is served at the roof top restaurant.
Once on the roof, we could finally see the whole medina being in front of us. An awesome view!
According to the riad's owner, medina of Fès el-Bali housed about 300,000 people and about 1,000 mosques of all shapes and sizes. It was time for the evening prayer and we could here the mullahs slowly starting to sing - first one, then another, until everybody joined in. You could truly feel the Middle East all around.
The food was great and we really enjoyed the home cooked meal. It doesn't look like much, but this lam tajine with plums and almonds was absolutely delicious!
From the rooftop we also got to see a gorgeous sunset before going to bed.
Considering how difficult it was to find the riad, we decided to take a guide, that would show us around the medina. The owner was happy to arrange one for us, and at 9am the next morning he was waiting for us in the inner courtyard. A small medina square was just a couple of minutes away and started from there.
Our walk through the medina of Fès el-Bali, was primarily an attempt to keep up with the guide and not to get lost. The streets here are even a bigger mess than in Marrakech and we wouldn't recommend walking here without a local, unless you have tons of time on your hands and you are willing to spend have of it trying to find the way.
Once the fear of getting lost is gone, walking here is an absolutely enjoyable experience. We loved the small streets, the opportunity to be the part of local life, the atmosphere of the whole place. There was something new behind every corner and we really liked being in the crafts quarter and seeing the amazing things that can be done out of metal, stone and other materials.
The craftsmen sit quite high up in their workshops, which was unusual.
Also on the street you get to see a lot of every day local life, like this teacher, who waits for his pupils to get back from break...
... or this guy, who distributes gas tanks on a horse, because the vehicles are not allowed within the medina walls.
Everybody just walks up and down with stuff (the old medina is build on several hills)...
... or uses donkeys (I felt so sorry for them)... :-(
At some point we got to the Berber pharmacy in the Medina, that has hundreds of jars of twisted root and twig neatly lined up along the walls. The apothecary inside gave us a lecture on how heeling those things are, but we were reluctant to buy anything and he left us alone.
Next we ended up in the "Quartier des tanneurs". The tanneries in the medina feature leather-making techniques unchanged since the Middle Ages. You can see men walk the narrow paths between huge vats of lye and colorful dyes, hear the water wheels creak as the leather is rinsed, and the buildings facing the tannery are being covered with pelts hanging to dry.
Also ship wool is being dried on the near by roofs.
By the way, the smell wasn't that bad and the mint leafs help to get through the first 5 minutes, after which it doesn't really bother you anymore.
After the tanneries, we were taken to another carpet store, but since there were already a group of American tourist there, we were left alone. And rightly so, as I am sure that the carpet sellers had much better luck with the Americans than with us. It was funny to watch them being seduced...
This guy was probably waiting for the next flock to come in :-)
Before getting back to the riad, we walked through the local market...
... stopped to see the "most important" mosque...
... and admired a breathtaking medina view from one of the hidden roofs.
It was just after 1pm and the second half of the day we planned to spent at Volubilis - a partly excavated Roman city situated near Meknes and is about an hour drive from Fez.
Next: Volubilis - going back to the Roman times
Once on the roof, we could finally see the whole medina being in front of us. An awesome view!
The food was great and we really enjoyed the home cooked meal. It doesn't look like much, but this lam tajine with plums and almonds was absolutely delicious!
After the tanneries, we were taken to another carpet store, but since there were already a group of American tourist there, we were left alone. And rightly so, as I am sure that the carpet sellers had much better luck with the Americans than with us. It was funny to watch them being seduced...
Next: Volubilis - going back to the Roman times
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