Funky Cool Medinas

“Balek!”   We quickly learned that balek means Watch out! In an instant, we pushed our backs against the hard walls of the tiny pathways inside the chaotic and crazy medinas in Fez. I turned around to see a DONKEY, man on top and goodies hanging off his sides, pushing through the tiny alleyways completely full of bodies carrying their own goods. I swear I really thought there was no way that animal was getting through without taking someone’s toes off. That what happens when you allow a whole city to meander around the tiny streets of the enormous overwhelming outdoor market that is Fez the day before their biggest holiday! It’s like the mall on Christmas eve!!!

The medinas of Fez might be the coolest dirt I have ever set foot on, just watch out for the mysterious puddles and donkey droppings!  Its a labyrinth of tight alleys with high windowless walls, people living on the other sides.  Absolutely baffling turns and tucks that all look identical with one souq after another lining the way selling many of the same items in the same colors, fabrics and owner demeanor (come, I will give you good price, today is holiday, you are my first customer!) The only way to get a precise picture of this place is to go, I will do no justice in any description. It’s another world, where it seems like you walked into the middle of a page in the Bible. You just walk down the streets to find the fixings for the sheep you are about to sacrifice, choose from a million spices (very different from those of India) and other flavorings, and purchase a chicken to compliment the dish, their throats slit in front of you as you pull out the coins to pay. Ludicrous I tell you, just something else. I loved it.

Watch your toes!

On the first day we took a guided tour of the medinas from a OFFICIAL guide. While traveling by train to Fez, we met a nice man who spoke English very well named Amine, and he told us so many silly facts about the country, and then told us he had a friend in Fez that is a tour guide and would show us around the city for a good price. Yes, this man was a very good man and we decided to trust him. I still do not regret trusting Amine and the authenticity of his friend, but I do think that the man who showed us around had other things on his mind.

First of all, the days we decided to go were the days leading up to Eid al Adha, a holiday where they celebrate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for Allah by having a feast sacrificing sheep. Crazy right? Even crazier is that they buy this sheep days ahead of time, keep it in their home like a pet, feed it, give it a place to rest at night, and then the man of the house sacrifices him on the Friday morning, turns its head to face mecca and slits his throat while completely conscious!  Poor little guys.  The richer give scraps to the poor, and every part of the animal is eaten except tiny bits of the heart and liver, which the women of the household put in the corners of each room of the house to keep away evil.  Beats the dishes.  Everyone is involved and it is a very family oriented holiday.  Somewhat like our thanksgiving I suppose! Also, if you cannot afford a big fat juicy sheep, you can settle for a goat, which costs less. Mind you that each sheep costs about $300!!!!! Now that’s a pricey Thanksgiving! And we thought turkey was a rip off!

So the guided tour…he ended up taking us to all these very nice merchants and artisans. The very very nice stuff…not just a souvie off the streets! (eek! That means they want my money!) First we went to a carpet maker, where they would not let up on trying to convince us to spend thousands of dollars on rugs, ship them back to the states, and then sell them for an amazing price to make money. It sure was a great idea…I am just not investing that much money in those bad boys. But, we did get some free mint tea out of the deal (since they do not drink…this is like beer to them, their social drink of choice). And I learned all about natural dyes.  Next we listened to a very knowledgeable herbologist (their form of pharmacist with many other cool things included! Like makeup….i guess it’s the local CVS ha). This was actually really neat, a lot of natural remedies and things. And of course…spices! Then our trek went on to some religious sites, which we were so nicely informed we are not invited to step foot into because we are not Muslim. Even the schools.

Then we watched a man chisel away at some bronze. Here they had all kinds of metal and bone work (yes, bone). They had everything from jewelry to plates and mirrors. James spent a fortune in here. He showed interest in some pieces, and they took him (just him) into a back room and wheeled and dealed. He then asked me what I thought of the deal (calling me in) and the man at the desk kind of shied away and basically said that woman are harder to make a trade with, and I basically had to leave them to deal. So crazy! Guess us women know how to spend our money, and they don’t like that! Ha. I really don’t understand…he really did seem intimidated though. I think it is because they do not argue with women, so no matter what I say he would have to agree, and in business, how is that fair? I agree…

After that we checked out some hand woven fabrics. Scarves, blankets, shawls, the like. Absolutely gorgeous colors (from natural dyes again) but slightly pricey again. Nothing like India! It was neat to see them making it on the spindle! After the last bits of fabrics were thrown on the floor, we realized we were tired of being milked for every penny we had, not to mention made feel bad they were giving us a great price because we were the “first customer of the day.” Let’s be honest…they only opened because we were walking past (and mister guide called them up and told them we were on our way)!

We actually learned a few things from our salesman guide as well....First of all it is very common to have two doors in Morocco, one larger one, and one smaller one that opens inside the larger one, both with separate knockers.  Its neat, and heres why they have it:  When a man comes to visit someone on foot, he uses the small knocker to let them know hey I am here and I come with only myself.  If he comes on horse or another animal, he will be first of all elevated to the second knocker, not having to get down off his ride, and then the greeter will open the larger door knowing that he will be letting in both the visitor and his animal...  you thought they parked those things in the streets?!  Definitely not wide enough for a donkey AND a crowd!

We also learned the "Rule of 5" of a Moroccan city: There are 5 concentric circles that form every Moroccan city.  In the middle you have the religious buildings and grounds (the center of their lives), surrounded by the souqs (shops) and places of work.  Then are where people live, the homes within the tall endless walls and neat double doors.  And outside those walls are gardens and cemeteries.    There you have it, five concentric circles.  Other rules of five that allow a city to function: they pray five times a day, there are five pillars of Islam in each city, and there are five institutions.  Each community must have a mosque in which to pray, a school, a fountain for water, bread oven to supply daily bread, and hammans in which to bathe.  And by institutions, yes I do mean they share these places.  Within the medinas, there are in fact places familes will bring their bread ready to bake, marked with a special mark to signify their ownership of the baked goods.  As for the fountain, another community that believes in shared water.  And the hammams...oh the hammams.  This is a nice steam bath where they take clay like pestals and scrub you clean.  These do in fact come in touristy fashion if you were to wish to try one out (like a spa), but in this community, women go to the hammans and bathe in the morning, while men go in the afternoon.  Imagine the chaos that would bring to a society like Americas!

That night we went to a neat Moroccan dinner show. There was scissor dancing, belly dancers, a magician, a band, and a dove complimented with a sweet and sour dinner. Now sweet and sour, Im not sure that’s a good thing. We started dinner off strong…fabulous appetizers of olives, bread, and all sorts of other tid bits to try. Then out came the bang… something called a Pastille. Now to me, that word looks like pasta…so Im thinking even if its like pasta salad, we can make it work out. Out comes basically fried dough stuffed with dry duck stuffing covered in powdered sugar and cinnamon. THAT is not the first thing that comes to mind when someone says sweet and sour!!! It was something else. I DO NOT recommend it without trying stuffing inside fried dough. Not that the food is actually bad, just completely awkward to a newbie!

The next morning we HAD to hit up the ceramic tile making. I mean, Fez is known for it! Amine, the guy from the train, had another friend drive us up the hills to where it was located (he came with us this time!  I think he needed a ride because he left when we got there), and we had a mini tour of how pottery and ceramic tiles are made. Now having a Nana that makes her own ceramics, I thought I was going into this all smart, knowing it all. Heck no, it's so different. They use huge gigantic stoves to heat it all, dip the tiles individually in a bucket of glaze and fire it again in the huge earthy stove. Then they HAND CHIP and chisel all the little bits and pieces to form the shapes and designs, and then hand lay them into place (upside down hoping to get it right!), paint by hand, and do metal work, again by hand! When they said made by hand, they really really mean it! It was actually quite neat, but a little too ornamented for my personal taste.  The tile fountains were really neat though...Ill take one of those!

Having been one day closer to the feast, there were people all over the place gathering their fixings and buying their sheep. My favorite moment was when a person bought a sheep and had a motorcycle mo-ped type vehicle to get it home on, and sometimes with another passenger! This means doubling up on the seat, one person controlling the bike from behind, and the other pinching the sheep between his legs and keeping the squirming animal on the tiny bit of metal. Now imagine doing that WITHOUT the friend to help! They also had advertisements on billboards for the holiday and sheep with men pulling the animals by a string attached to the horns. This may seem like an exaggeration, but its purely reality. Everywhere you look there is a ballistic sheep yanking its head back away from a string held by a man on the other side! Crazy tradition.  If the sheep only knew what else was to come...he might start running on two feet and punching with his hooves!

After the excitement of the days, we decided to spend the last in the mist of the medinas. These, much more chaotic than those of Marrakech. There are many more souqs, many more typical daily shops (like the meat markets), and more trinket stops. My heaven. Not to mention there is no way except the moon to tell which way you are going and which way you have come from. But, thats why they keep the young boys out…to walk us almost a mile home for a dollar.

Of all the chaos that moved in and out of those streets as we meandered around, I will forever remember one thing: the coca-cola DONKEY bringing the bottles to the homes in the medinas. Im talking gallons and gallons of bottles of coca-cola (the cool glass ones with Arabic writing on them!  obviously.)  And every few feet the man with the donkey on a leash would stop the donkey who would patiently wait outside while the man unloaded crates of coca-cola and brought them into the homes for the feast!  It was absolutely ludicrous...talk about globalization! When we were on our road trip, there were actually shops that were just billboarded with coca-cola advertisements on the walls as we passed by.  Apparently, these donkey carriers even go up mountain passes so you can enjoy your coke at high heights in the middle of nowhere!  Now that is desperation!  At least, for those coke addicts out there, you know you are always covered!  Anything for a coca-cola! Seriously though…

Well, that is all.  Just remember, if you are going to Morocco around this time...do not bring your vegetarian cook books or your animal rights friends.  But if you are brave, make some Moroccan friends...they are very friendly!  Maybe they will invite you in for the feast ;)

Funny observation: Moroccans love making noise, for example tossing a pile of coins in their hands, jingling keys, humming and even random bits of Moroccan beat boxing. Its quite a musical place.

Another interesting thing they do:  When they shake hands, immediately after they hit their chest (more of a hand to heart gesture) to show the genuine nature of the greeting.

Word of the day: Balek! (obviously, or else our toes would be gone!)