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TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
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Our initial impressions of Fes was that it was an even more aggressive town than Marrakech, based on the onslaught of hawkers and guides in the Medina near Bab Boujeloud (Blue Gate). We really had to fight these guys off. One 12 year old kid explained to us that if we did not take him as our guide through the maze of the medina (supposedly there are over 9000 streets, 1000 of which are dead end) then we would be bothered everywhere we went. However, with him by our side the other guides and hawkers would back off. Such Mafia style protection offered from a 12 year old: kids grow up fast in Morocco. One 7 year old was employed making textiles upstairs from a carpet shop where we bought a kilim (we bought the kilim before we saw that there was child labor). He was setting up spools for the men that were working the looms, and his job consisted of winding thread onto a spool. We made sure to leave a tip to the guys in that shop when we left.
Our hotel was not as nice as the Hotel Medina in Marrakech, and was 50% more expensive. We could hear and smell everything the neighbors and guests were doing. Being right in the center of the Medina, we were awoken by the calls of the meuzzin every morning around 4:00am, with at least three mosques in the immediate area competing for our attention. Though we did not like being woken so early, the sounds of the meuzzin added to the atmosphere of staying in the Medina.
Our days were spent walking through the Medina and lounging at the cafes where there was plenty of good people watching. Erin favored the mint teas (they literally stuff the glass full of mint and then pour green tea on top) and I preferred the espressos. We did eat a lot of Pastillas, the specialty of Fes. It is a dish of chicken or pigeon with raisins inside a crispy filo like dough with cinnamon and powdered sugar on top. An odd combination of sweet and spice, but so very delicious!
Around town we tried to visit the Jardins de Boujeloud, however they were closed for repairs. We did see the marvelous Belghazi museum, which required going through tighter (3 feet wide) and shorter (5.5 feet high) passages to reach. The museum is in an old Riad which was a joy itself to walk through. The crafts and home decorations on display were great too, although there does not seem to exist a clear distinction of what is an antique. A piece is either new, or it is old (perhaps older than 30 years).
We visited the Chouwara tanneries twice, once from the ground level where we seemed to mostly get in the way of the workers who are in shorts or underwear and standing thigh deep in pigeon guano or some colorful dye working the hides to get them soaked. The second visit was from a good vantage point of a leather shop overlooking the tanneries. This was easier as it also included a fistful of mint leaves to hold in front of your face to prevent passing out from the noxious smells. I found a shoulder bag I liked of goat fur but was surprised when the shop priced it at 2500 dirhams (roughly $250). During bargaining he went down to 300 dirhams, but there was no sale because I was only willing to pay 200.
We also saw the Medersa Bou Inania, an old and beautifully crafted medieval Islamic college. Across the street (8 feet wide and a donkey cart can fit so it counts as a street) from the Medersa was the remains of a water clock. Unfortunately the mechanics of that were missing, as Michael would have loved to have seen those.
We met an American woman (Miranda) and a Canadian guy (Jonathan) who we hung out with for a couple of days. Together we climbed up to the ruins of the Merenid Tombs (when were those built - in typical Moroccan style it is not known but they are old). These overlook the city although there is really very little remaining of them above ground. We also stumbled upon a bird market and one man eager to show off the plumes of his pigeon put his lips around the beak and inflated it's chest for our inspection. From there we wandered through the many souks in the Medina, carpentry, coppersmiths, clothing, fabric, and every day items. Michael selected a handsome fez to add to his collection. Especially interesting was one area where they made wedding chars, decorative thrones made of tin. Michael attempted to find an antique Astrolabe (an instument used by sea farers to determine latitude and longitude), however the ones we were shown were of dubious age and were very expensive. We did plenty of browsing, but walked away from Fes without much additional weight.
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