A day to tour Fez, a bustling city with 1.3 million people living in the old city (1500 years old) the new city (700 years old) and modern Fez. First, a wonderful breakfast at our hotel with four choices of bread and pastry, two more of types of pancakes, various jams and hummus spreads, yoghurt, fresh orange juice and coffee. Then a stroll to the bus and off to old Fes and its medina. The guide is immaculately attired with long sleeved checkered shirt, smart tailored green trousers and high quality shoes. He's friendly and informative, but fast paced and somewhat detached, unlike other guides that we've experienced. So not our favourite.
However, we did learn a bucketload of new information about this massive city and fascinating country from him. Some facts:-
Fes was built in 808.
The site of Fes was chosen because it's between three rivers and mountains either side (Rif and Atlas)
Morocco has never been invaded or conquered.
Mosques in Morocco are typically square shaped unlike mosques in any other country which are dome shaped. This is because the square shape is easier to construct and Moroccan Muslims were not controlled by the Turkish Ottoman Empire.
The first female rabbi in the history of Morocco has recently been appointed, following the death of the previous rabbi.
Morocco is progressive. There is equal pay and equality between men and women.
The food in Morocco is different to the cuisine of other Muslims in other countries.
There is a surprising amount of new construction and according to our local guide a new district is created in Fes every year.
So, about our day... We started at the massive brass gates to the king's palace where a group of men were busy polishing the 3m wide x4m crisscross designed high gates, likely to keep the giant sheets of bronze from bowing. Then a brisk walk along a street which brought us to the Jewish quarter beside the palace. As mentioned today and previously, Jews have always been well accepted in Morocco and especially so following their exile from Spain in the 1400s with the Spanish Inquisition, when they brought money, skills and knowledge. The Jewish population peaked in the 1950s with between 250000 - 350000, before the majority migrated to Israeli leaving only about 85 families in Fes. So much history, we are learning a great deal.
We entered the medina via one of a limited number of openings in the 15 kilometre long city wall. The wall is possibly 6m in height and like all construction here, is several metres thick, made from adobe brick and rendered with an attractive brown colouring. The opening is inconspicuous and barely wider than one person. This is by design to prevent potential raiders storming in. But the strategy continues. All the streets are narrowish (one car width, but no cars can get in ) According to the guide there are 40000 dead end streets and 9000 winding streets. Doesn't seem to add up but either way, we can verify there are a lot! (Of both streets and dead ends!)
There are no signposts to indicate streets or directions and to navigate this incredible labyrinth is a skill that probably only those born and bred in the medina are truly capable of. To ensure none of us lost our way, we walked through with the two guides both at the lead and tail end. A bit like a school excursion but with much smaller numbers (only twelve of us). Within these walls live 30k citizens and I can only ponder the potential for devastation should there be a fire or earthquake and everyone needs to evacuate in a hurry. Of course that hasn’t happened in 2000 years so I guess it's low risk. But you just never know!
It was challenging making our way through the busy streets with constant separations caused by the multitudes cutting in as they went about their regular activities. But somehow we managed not to lose anyone. There were numerous poverty stricken beggars, so sad to see. And workers determined to make a living. There were many people setting up and preparing to auction their merchandise. There were also other tour groups, all just like us, helpless without our guide to show us the way. We visited pottery and ceramic workshops/sales rooms, tannery and leather shop, fabric shop, and a restaurant that I would never have discovered independently. The only opening to these buildings is the door and an open quadrangle in the centre of each building, mostly glassed in.
The pottery workshop consisted of a room with individuals seated around performing specific specialised tasks by hand. For example, hand painting of the pottery was done by a small cluster of teenage females seated on low boxes and holding pieces in their hands, no work benches or seats. The ceramics workshop only had male workers, performing jobs such as cutting precise tiny shapes which would later be used to make table tops, fountains and many many other products, all with intricate designs. They chisel pieces individually with a ten pound hammer/chisel while seated on the floor. The handle of the hammer having worn a hole in the leg of the table it sits on. Tough life.
Working in the tannery vats is considered the second worst job in the world (coal mining was #1) and women simply do not work there. The stench was almost unbearable, which is likely why we were all given small twigs of mint leaves to smell (to mask the pungent odour). Only one purchase was made from any members of our little group at the leather shop, similarly the case at the ceramics and the fabric shop. We moved too quickly for anyone to have time to buy.
Back to our accommodation via a supermarket where we bought provisions for dinner, including beer and wine that we found available for sale for the first time in Morocco. (The local Muslims don't drink it.) Back at the hotel eight of us sat at tables in the courtyard and ate, drank and chatted. A pleasurable way to end the day.
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