The Fes blog

We've just headed a little way west (to Meknes, Volubilis and Moulay Idriss) after a couple of days in Fes, another rather overwhelming Moroccan city.  Sometimes it's hard to believe they're not putting it on.



This is the one city in Morocco where everyone seems to agree you need a guide to get the best from it, so we asked our campsite (the calm, friendly and only slightly ramshackle Diamant Vert, in the middle of the Ain Chkhef forest) to make the necessary arrangements.  That evening our guide Ali arrived in his shiny black Fiat, softly spoken, serious and very smart with a neat beard and shiny shoes.  We arranged to meet up the following morning.

The next day (Tuesday) we set off in his car to visit the old town.  As we travelled and got to know each other, Ali turned out to be far from quiet, and far from serious (although the beard and shiny shoes are real).  He is a highly educated man and speaks good English as well as German and French. His philosophy is that it's better to take your time over five monuments, appreciate them properly and see something of everyday life than to canter around twenty monuments – an approach that suits us just fine. We met large tour parties being led around like sheep and were very glad we weren't on their itinerary.


http://www.fes-guide.com

It's clear Ali's enthusiastic about sharing his extensive knowledge of his home city; not just making a living from the visitors.  He surprised us in the souk with a gift to remember him by … as if we could ever forget Ali.

So what did we see?

After a panoramic view of the old city, which should have orientated us but left us as bewildered as ever, we drove to a pottery which acts as a centre for passing on the traditional skills as well as a factory.  We saw a wide range of products being made; items being turned on a wheel, hand painted with natural glazes and fired in wood fired kilns.  They also produce a range of spectacular mosaic pieces.  Coloured glazed tiles are cut by hand into the shapes required, chamfered with a tool like a geologist's hammer, then arranged face down to form the pattern of a table top or ornamental fountain. The artists there are very skilled  and the pottery was gorgeous.



Another highlight was the famous tanneries, viewed from the balconies of a fantastic leather goods shop.  The raw hides are tanned and dyed in a series of vats containing solutions of lime, pigeon dung and herbal dyes.  Below us workers were standing thigh deep in the various solutions stamping and turning the sodden hides.  Some wore chest waders, others must have been content to go home with crimson legs.  It's a revelation how much dirty, stinking, backbreaking work goes into these delicate slippers, elegant leather jackets and dignified briefcases.



After the explanation about the tanning process and the chance to take endless photos we were given tea and allowed to spend as long as we liked exploring the shop – no pressure whatsoever. What a joy! Stella finally managed to find the perfect pair of babouche (leather slippers) that she'd been looking for. 

Lunch was a treat at the Palais Tijani; a place obviously popular with tour guides (and mentioned in the Rough Guide) as it combines beautiful décor with very good food. As well as the usual Moroccan staples, tagines and couscous, we got to sample a wide range of  delicious starters and were served by polite and attentive staff. We were also given a second dessert (briouats) to take back to the van with us for later.



We seemed to have a bit of bad luck with the Kairaouine University and the Madersa El Attarin, as both were unexpectedly closed.  In both cases access for non-Moslems is fairly restricted, so we would not have been able to see much anyway.  The University was particularly important as a major centre of learning in the mediaeval period, at a time when Europe was forgetting everything it once knew.

Apart from the big 'postcard' sights we spent a lot of time exploring the souks and crafts of the old medina, a succession of memorable sights, smells and sounds.

Perhaps the best thing about having Ali to guide us was that he worked like a magic charm against hustlers. As we meandered through the souk with him we were able to look at stalls and take in the atmosphere without being badgered by stallholders or faux guides. We were able to experience the best of Moroccan hospitality rather than being bothered by the minority who prey on tourists.

The following day we returned by ourselves to see Bab Boujeloud and the Bou Inania Madersa.  As we entered the medina we felt we were running the gauntlet without Ali, although the attention eased off after a few hundred metres when we left the stalls selling tourist souvenirs and reached the everyday shopping stalls.  The Madersa is another spectacular piece of classical Moroccan architecture, a confection of geometric tile work, carved stucco and cedar.  It includes a prayer hall which is out of bounds to non-Moslems but, unusually, is open for everyone to view.



We finished our visit with a cheap lunch in a café with a rooftop terrace overlooking the Bab Boujeloud.