Tuesday 9 October - Fez

Breakfast was fun with the four girls, after which we all went our separate ways for the day. This was to be our last cruisy day here because tomorrow we have decided to make a day trip to historic Meknes, a town an hour away, plus two other places along the way. Hence, today we wanted to make a few small purchases, and an omelette for lunch somewhere. Things got off to a good start when I immediately found a belt and a purse. The prices were so reasonable we didn't even bother bargaining with the shop owners. 

After seeing a bar where we’d had a mint tea earlier in the week, so headed straight there to repeat the exercise. In the event, John downed another soft drink instead – his second in about 20+ years. He needed the energy boost. We are both still flagging. I have come down with a bit of a head cold but John is finally feeling 100% for the first time since we arrived here.

We enjoyed sharing jokes with the guys at the bar/cafe and set off again feeling refreshed and in great spirits. John mentioned casually to me that he liked the particular style of some of the carpets here. I thought the same and agreed with him. BIG MISTAKE. Why not just have a look at this stall right here… John spied a rug hanging on the wall that he quite fancied. Yes, I thought so too. Oh no. ‘What is your best price sir? I give you a democratic price. Just for you, a great price……’ We both sighed, had a look at some other rugs, shrugged our shoulders (though caught each other's eye behind the guy's back because we both liked it), suggested less than a quarter of the asking price, and, after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, oops, we’d bought it (for 1/4 price). How did that happen? We do both really like it and are pretty pleased. It is nothing like any of the other rugs we have at home, and it’s quite small. Just as well - we now have to get it home. Chatting with the Moroccan guy who we'd haggled with, it turned out that his girlfriend was, as he termed it, an 'aborigine' (meaning Maori) from New Zealand. He said he was excited to have sold to some NZers, and he really did seem genuine about it. 

One of Fez's lovely public fountains

Time and again we have been impressed by how friendly and kind the people are here, and not just those you happen to buy from. It’s across the board – those sitting on the steps outside their stalls, those you chat with over a mint tea, waiters, people you ask directions from, anyone. There is no hardsell pressure to buy in the stalls either. If you say 'non, merci', then they will invariably wish you a very good day and with a smile too. It is different from our experience in Marrakesh, though it really wasn't too bad there, and many other tourists we have talked to say the same thing. It really has been a very pleasant experience.

We did eventually end up having a Moroccan omelette for lunch, and very tasty it was too. It is essentially an omelette with diced tomato and onion, but with a good handful of French fries thrown into the mix. It costs the equivalent of around 4E. When I heard someone next door asking for a coffee, my ears picked up immediately. I’ve only had one during the last week, so have been very restrained. I made the mistake of asking for a coffee (John had bought a soft drink earlier in the day after all). Of course it wasn’t up to much (though had caffeine) but when we got the bill found out it cost 3E, almost as much the omelette. It will keep me going until we get back to Spain though.

For the first time since we have been here it has rained. The days have been clear blue skies and hot, but Tuesday had dawned rather cloudy and the temperature a much more bearable 28 degrees. Thunder rolled around the skies in the afternoon and it was lovely to hear the raindrops, especially when tucked back up in our room. In fact, it ended up being a pretty impressive rainstorm, with decent thunder and lightning to boot. Great fun. This was enhanced when the power went out, and we ended up having our bread and cheese/tom/peppers dinner by romantic torchlight.

Monday 8 October - Fez

A day of doing little today. Neither of us felt great again. I have come down with a head cold. John is really sick of the smell emanating from the drains in the bathroom. It's not pleasant to smell when trying to sleep. We talked Said, the young manager who looks after the guests and make breakfast each day, and he said that repair work is going on with drainage within the medina. He brought some incense up to fire up in the room. It helped, temporarily.

I had a sleep again in the afternoon, something that is normally very rare for me. We ventured out for a few hours again, buying a baguette for lunch, and a few odds and sods. There are plenty of wonderful things to buy, in stall after stall, and it's difficult not to get too interested. However, we only have our hand-luggage with us, i.e. a 10kg limit for our Ryanair flights, so that is helping keep a check on any serious buying.

Place Seffarine, the metalworkers' quarter

And some of their output

When we arrived back at the dar later in the day the other guests had turned over yet again. This time it was two German girls and two English girls. There are three rooms here in total for accommodation, and the guests are typically here for only 1-3 nights, hence we have met quite a few over the last week. We all have breakfast together on the terrace, and it's been a lot of fun meeting everyone else, especially since they are usually in their 20s and are full of energy and enthusiasm for travel. We feel a bit like 'old hands' here, having been here for a week, but having said that, a lovely couple from Leipzig who we met at breakfast at a few days ago, beat us to find the main tannery later that morning. It was quite a laugh.

Sunday 7 October - Fez tanneries

Friday, 2 days ago, is the local day of rest, so we knew the famous Chouara Fez tannery would be working. It is located only about 10-15 minutes walk from our accommodation... provided you can find it in the alleys. We left just after 10am, and, after walking for three hours had managed to find our way to this tannery, only after having visited another one just around the corner from our dar. Yes, the alleys here are very complicated. We know our way round to a certain extent now, but once you get off your known route, everything turns to custard. Many of the young boys and youths delight in sending bewildered tourists off in the opposite direction they are asking to go. The same happened in Marrakesh, however the older men are generally extremely friendly and only want to be as helpful and welcoming as possible. 

After initially getting lost a woman took us in hand and she weaved her way unerringly around corner after corner until we arrived at the smaller tannery which is in fact a stone's throw from our dar. It is the oldest tannery in Fez, and, unlike the others it prepares camel skins. The smell wasn't too strong, though holding fresh mint to your nose is the usual practice when viewing the tannery from the terraces overhead. The guys in the pits work extremely hard hauling the skins in and out of the murky lime water, and later into the dying vats. The first part of the process must be thoroughly obnoxious on your skin. The dyes they use are all natural - normally vegetable-based. What incredibly tough work. After viewing the process everyone has to run a significant gauntlet through a multi-leveled building from which all manner of leather wares are sold. This is the only way to get back down to the alley. It feels a bit mean to keep saying 'no thank you' politely to the numerous proprietors, but they are generally very good natured and are not too pushy (quite different from our experience in Marrakesh). The leather goods are indeed lovely - bags, belts, jackets, purses, cushions, squabs and so on, but we really don't want to buy anything to take back, either to Ceret or Nelson.

The smaller tannery

Next, we persevered and kept asking directions from older men until we finally arrived at the main tannery. This was much bigger, with plenty of different dyes being used in the numerous vats. A donkey came in at once stage, carrying a load of new pelts for processing. The gauntlet on the way out wasn't quite so bad this time around as we tried to sneak our way out. There were plenty of people buying things though, with quite large groups of Chinese featuring prominently. 

The large Chouara tannery

 

Later on through the medina we got pulled into view an historic riad (for free), complete with women weaving their looms and a display of 1000s or rugs and kilims from the 1300 women who are part of the co-op that is run from here. It was an awesome display - the building, watching the weaving and also the mountainous stacks of rugs. Of course we were then asked which one we'd like to buy, with many being unrolled on the floor at our feet. We were strong-minded enough not to end up coming out with a rug, but it was a bit touch and go for a while!!

So, after thinking we were in for a short morning stroll 'around the corner', three hours and 6km later we found ourselves outside the family restaurant we'd had lunch at the first day we were here. It is close to our accommodation. Dying of hunger we stepped inside and enjoyed the same flavour of tajine we had last time. John was feeling very low on ergs so he bought a Fanta, possibly the first we have bought in perhaps 20 years or more. We finally got home to rest up at 2pm. John was still not feeling great, but I seem to have come right. As it turned out, he felt worse during the afternoon and ended up losing his lunch. This regime we are on seems certain to keep our weight down! With a headache as well it was clear John was having one of his 'coffee' episodes, only his second in the 5 months we have been in Europe. His coffee yesterday, first in about 4 days, was very strong, and probably precipitated things. No dinner.

A few things we have noted along the way -

• Most of the older women wear headscarves and full length cover, but up until about 25 the younger women wear far less. I wonder how many would want to keep wearing western clothes instead of reverting to traditional clothes as they get older. However we've seen very few women who are totally covered and only have their eyes visible. 
• Just about everyone has been so friendly and helpful, and non-pushy when you are in their shops. When you say you are from NZ they tend to get pretty excited. I guess we're a fairly rare breed. Most know the name 'kiwis'.
• There are lots of scrawny cats and kittens about, often lazing in the sun in the alleyways. They're extremely  tame and very much a part of life here. By contrast there are very few dogs (and therefore no dogshit), which is such a contrast to France. The only dogs we have heard have been those barking/howling at night here and there around the town. 
• We are really surprised at how few people smoke here. I guess I assumed that it would be popular and widespread but that is definitely not the case. We have seen very few locals smoking, and these are mostly older men. It means there are extremely few cigarette ends on the ground.

The medina is in fact kept very clean, with everyone keeping the outside of their stall frontages very tidy and swept. The whole medina has an air of activity, friendly banter among stall owners, the vast majority of the latter sitting quietly on little stools outside enjoying watching everyone go by, donkeys being used to ply goods up and down the alleys, and a restful atmosphere where people are sitting down have a mint tea or snack. It is very pleasant, but also very complicated to keep track of where you are.

We're found it unbelievable how quiet the medina is. For housing nearly 150,000 people, the night is very quiet, with the calm broken only by the odd dog, voices from a nearby alleyway or building next door and the muezzin calls from pre-dawn. Even during the day it is remarkably quiet, with perhaps some added construction noise from activity on a worksite or two and more conversation rising from the alleyways. With no vehicles and almost no motorbikes used in the medina, the effect on the tranquility of the place, and probably also the relaxed and gentle pace of the inhabitants, is a huge bonus to everyone.

Saturday 6 October - Ville Nouvelle

There was an almighty argument in the neighbours' house during the night. It was extremely loud and went on for ages. J&I managed to sleep quite well on and off during it nevertheless. The muezzin also make their calls before and after dawn, plus at other times of the day, but we are both sleeping very well irrespective of anything that wakes us up momentarily during the night. I think we are both extremely tired, perhaps the endless hot weather is sapping our energy more than we realise. 

We are eating less and less of each breakfast, neither of us being too keen on the doughnuts and bready things put out to accompany the hard-fried egg, yoghurt, plastic cheese and mint tea. However, feeling better today than yesterday we were determined to sort out our food issues. About a 4km walk from our place is a Carrefour supermarket. It is on the edge of the Ville Nouvelle (new town), which, according to Lonely Planet, is a pleasant French influenced urban area to visit. We were keen for some exercise, though we have typically been walking 8-10km each day (mostly from weaving in, out, around and through the medina alleys). It clouded over a little in the morning so the temperature didn't seem too hot and the walk outside the medina, through a bit of rural landscape was a pleasant change.

Ville Nouvelle, Fez

The Ville Nouvelle is basically a town in itself, but with a very wide boulevard along one side. Down the centre of the boulevard was nice greenery, though unfortunately the touted big fountains were in a state of disrepair and not working. The rest of it is very bland and tired - not special in any way. Conspicuously, there were a number of army soldiers/policemen strolling in threesomes down the length of the boulevard. We found a cafe to sit down and have a coffee. For virtually the first time since we'd arrived we'd found somewhere to sit down on the wide pavement, and able to watch all the activity in front of us - pedestrian and traffic. It was very enjoyable. 

This was one of the things we enjoyed so much in the main square in Marrakesh, and in other smaller squares there, but there are extremely few places in the medina in Fez which give this opportunity. There were lots of places for eating different dishes in the Ville Nouvelle, including in a big new mall nearby which offered the ubiquitous Burger King, McD's, Mr Italian Pasta and similar fare. We should have used the opportunity to have a non-tajine meal, but neither of us were very hungry, and in fact wanted something cold and wet. Hence we opted for a large pottle of soft-freeze yoghurt with trimmings.

After a bit of a wander-around we walked back to Carrefour and stocked up on cheese, tomatoes (which we can wash at home with bottled water), avocado, tinned fish, some nuts and a baguette. It should last us for 3-4 days. We can use the fridge in the kitchen in the riad. Unfortunately, my 'lunch' didn't stay inside me for terribly long but once despatched I felt fine and up to the walk back to the medina. Unfortunately we took a wrong turning and ended up doing an extra 3-4km, so by the time we got back to our riad had clocked up 17km and it was 4pm! Well worth it for a very enjoyable dinner.

Friday 5 October - Gardens and Downtime in the Heat

With forecast temperatures of 35, we were not up to doing too much. Both of us also felt just a little under the weather. We walked out the Blue Gate via streets that are becoming well-known to us, to the gardens just outside. They were nice, with some lovely palms, but smaller than we expected, so we were back inside the medina in time for a morning mint tea. 

Bougainvilleas growing as bushes in the Gardens

When we left the riad in the morning John hadn't been feeling too flash, and me middling. By the time we sat down for a cuppa at around 11am I was feeling pretty bad, with major stomach cramps. We hot-footed it back down the Talaa S'ghira to our dar, where we promptly curled up and went to sleep for an hour. We both felt better afterwards, though decided to give lunch a miss. 

Typical crowded alleyway

After a very quiet afternoon we ventured out to find a meal. We didn't really want to have another tajine, but there really wasn't much choice. So, we ended up at a more expensive place, partly because it was Friday, with many shops and businesses were closed for the day or prayer.

The prices vary a lot - depending on what eatery you manage to come across e.g. from the equivalent of 6E up to 14E or more, for basically the same tajine. The selection of tiny dishes of olives, chopped beetroot, lentils, beans, pickled aubergine and so on which precede the tajine are very nice but for some reason there is no option to have a bigger plate of any of them, either as a main or as part of a main dish. 

Thursday 4 October - First proper day exploring Fez

Off again into the alleys after breakfast. The first step was to change one of the earrings as they turned out to not be a perfect matching pair. We were greeted with enthusiasm by the owner, no trouble at all to sort the earrings. There were 4 mismatched rather beautiful long plain silver earrings from which I'd tried desperately to create a pair, as they really were a lovely design. I couldn't do it, but the owner then gave us a silly price for all 4, which after bargaining we accepted, as I'm sure I will be able to do a bit of mechanical tinkering to make a good pair! It also showed just how much we'd overpaid for the others!

Some alleyway scenes

 

A little further up the alley we stopped off for a mint tea, specifically requested with minimal sugar, which perhaps it was... by Moroccan standards anyway. Very pleasant all the same. A little further on there was a lovely old building with a carpet man outside. When we showed some interest in the building he waved us in to look at what he said was one of the few remaining caravanserai, now used for making leatherware with a dozen tiny enterprises around the perimeters working away. Fascinating.

The fondouk with leather workers

Further on was a place specialising in brassware. The Moroccan brass is fabulous. Huge lamps made from perforated brass, sometimes with bright coloured glass as well. I was especially taken with a gorgeous chandelier of 13 individual brass and glass lamps. Rather too large and no doubt expensive to get back to NZ. We both have a love for the Moroccan designs - the brass, the carved plaster, wooden screens, the courtyards and the simply beautiful patterned tiles everywhere on the floors and up to waist level on the walls. There's a temptation to buy a container-load of stuff and have it shipped to New Zealand! We are not tempted to buy a house here, not at all. I've bought a book for my e-reader about a couple who fell in love with Fes and bought an old riad (courtyard house) to restore and live in. What a horrendous tale of difficulties with bureaucracy, impossible-to-find workmen, tricky neighbours and more. We can however quite see the lure of a finished and modernised riad.

The Mederssa Bouanania was very lovely. Right up to other Moorish decorations we have seen anywhere.

Outside the Blue Gate, we finally found somewhere to get an omelette for lunch, and good it was too. It was a good spot to spend a while watching the people and traffic sorting themselves out. There's a lot of tolerance and patience to be seen. Finally back to our room mid-afternoon for a couple of hours downtime.

The previous night we'd seen how lovely the city looked in the warm evening light, so we thought we'd find our way to the hill and ruined buildings outside and above the city walls. We navigated rather easily there, considering the maze of alleys, and enjoyed the vistas from above Fez medina. It's a huge area. It's all so dense that there are no discernable streets when viewed from above or outside.

A graveyard on our way up the hill, looking out at hills surrounding Fez

The previous night one of the restaurant touts had said he had a place with two terraces, but more important he had beer! Try as we might, we couldn't find it again. We were asked by a young guy what we were looking for, yes, no problem, he knew of a restaurant with beer and off he went with us in tow. A decent meal, tajines again of course, but no beer! Any number of people have offered to walk us somewhere, mosty we are sure with no intention of a kickback. The people are a highlight so far. We've had many French conversations, with universal astonishment that we come from New Zealand and even more, that we can speak French.

So a much better day, though we would desperately like a bit of fresh fish with some lightly cooked veges. I'm sure meals like that exist, but not in our price bracket, or perhaps not in the medina. We couldn't travel the amount we do if we weren't careful with costs.

3 October - Arrival in Fez, Morocco

Our flight was a typical Ryanair affair. No food, no entertainment, reasonable legroom and comfort, with the standard clapping on landing at Fez at quarter to 9pm. Very nice to have only cabin baggage so very quickly through border control and customs out into the arrivals hall. Our accommodation place had a taxi arranged to meet us, and there was a man with a sign to greet us. The ride in was fine, surprisingly long, and through open country, modern commercial areas and arriving at Place R'Cif just outside the old medina of Fez.

Arrival at Fez

The old medina is said to be both the largest and best-preserved Muslim medina in the world, with 150,000+ people living and working inside it. The 'manager' of our dar (house) was waiting and took us in tow through seemingly endless narrow lanes, shops on each side, to arrive at a hole off a marginally larger lane where our tiny lane began. We tried to memorise the way for future reference, but it was all a bit overwhelming!

Our accomodation was through a heavy door, up 2 flights of steps to the entry level, then another 3 flights from there to our room at the top. Unfortunately the pictures of the room were deceiving - it was neither as large or as bright as it appeared on the booking site. It would have to do, but we were both very disappointed as we had booked 9 nights there, and hoped to spend quite a bit of time in the room chilling out with good books. There was also a drainy smell that came and went through the day and night. Our manager took us onto the roof terraces, which by contrast were simply spectacular. Our dar is the tallest in the area, so the views are astounding. We were right up high in the very centre of the medina, with cubic-shaped buildings stretching away on all sides, and the old cemetery and a fort opposite. The medina is so dense that there is no hint of any streets, just buildings.

The view from our terrace

We had a mosque roof close by, so expected a bit of noise from the muezzin, but we rather like that. As it turned out, there was a session before dawn, but not too intrusive, and early enough that we both easily got back to sleep.

Breakfast was OK. Olives, naan bread, a madeline each and some other dense bready/cakey thing. Eggs fried in a tajine, yoghurt, jam and a triangle of processed cheese, with orange juice and mint tea to wash it down.

The entrance to our street

First step was to try to make sense of the medina. The map we were given was OK, but the reality on the ground was very different. nothing is straight and square, even the straighter streets kink and weave! There are two main streets between us and the Blue Gate, and we managed to work our way up one and down the other quite successfully. Quite fun really. Plenty of people about, plus a smattering of donkeys and human-powered push-carts. A great pleasure not having to contend with the motorbikes we loathed in Marrakesh. Another advantage of no motorised vehicles is the extraordinary quiet of the medina. In the morning we could only hear birds.

One of the lovely fountains Fez is known for

Having successfully done an orientation tour, we looked for somewhere to lunch, looking for perhaps an omelette as we'd had in Marrakesh at any number of cafes. No such luck. There are very few food outlets at all, and those there are have minimal menus. We managed to find a recommended family-run eatery, The Famille Berada, off one of the main drags. Finding it was quite amusing. We knew we were close to it, asked a likely lad, and found we were standing right outside it. Signage here isn't necessarily obvious. We were invited into the kitchen to taste and choose which tajine we'd like, then sat down to an excellent meal of many little starters, followed by the ubiquitous tajines. All this to the accompaniment of father at 70+ doing handstands. He was quite a character.

Our French was proving very useful. There is a lot of English spoken, but everyone learns French at school, and we could thus converse easily with shopkeepers, locals or whatever. The accent is pretty pure, and we found most people easier to understand than in France, a real bonus.

Having travelled a lot, and having houses full of travel-bought stuff, we are pretty much past buying more. However earrings are an easy exception, and we spent a while in one silver shop choosing and haggling prices. We knew we were being done, but the prices were not high, so what did it matter.

People seem to be universally nice. Very few touts, mostly a quick bonjour and merci non do the trick, again a nice change from Marrakesh where they were more determined.

Temperatures were still excessive, with highs of 32-35 for the first half of our time. We had a siesta in the early afternoon before heading out in the other direction in the early evening. Thankfully the heat reduces quickly at sunset. We randomly chose a restaurant for dinner - guess what? Tajines again. After two we were already feeling a little tajined out. Unfortunately most restaurants have very limited menus - tajines in about 4 styles, and brochettes (skewered meat) on couscous. Over the years we have gone more and more towards fresh vegetables, not always with meat, and it was not looking good so far for us.

The ubiquitous tajine

Overall not a great day at all. A disappointing, somewhat smelly room, average breakfast, very limited choice of food for lunch and dinner, and a certain amount of disorientation in the alleys of the medina. Even finding somewhere to buy water was remarkably difficult.