Morocco!! Day 2

October 31st

We woke up early to get started with the awesome day we had ahead of us! This was our only full day in Fes and we had a lot to see and do. Words cannot describe what an incredible day we had in Fes. They say Morocco is the land of the five senses, and after touring Fes I really do believe it. I have never been anywhere where there is so much to see, smell, taste, touch and hear. As I describe the amazing day we had in Fes, I hope to portray at least some of these exquisite sensations I experienced there.

We began the tour by stopping at the King’s Palace to see the outside, which has beautiful doors and intricate arched mosaics. Our tour guide, Mohib, was really great. At the beginning of the tour he told us that the one thing he wanted us to do after our experience in Morocco is to go back to the States as “ambassadors” of Morocco. He wanted us to realize how friendly and welcoming the country of Morocco is, and try our best to eliminate the misconceptions many people have about Morocco. Granting Mohib’s wish, I hope that this blog helps to show all of you what an enchanting and incredible place Morocco is.

After taking some photos by the King’s Palace we took the bus to the Medina. The Medina of Fes el Bali (The Old Fes) is the oldest part of Fes and is surrounded by walls. The Medina is basically an area of the city made up by narrow winding streets, containing everything from the fresh local market to the leather tannery. This splendid network of small streets has existed, unchanged (only expanded) since medieval times. Thousands of people walk these small streets but no cars can fit; hence, it is believed to be the largest contiguous car free urban area in the world by population. People use donkeys to carry their good through the Medina, and because of this you often here people yelling “Balak,” which means “watch out” as they try to pass by with their donkeys! The Medina of Fes el Bali was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. We spent most of the day walking through the Medina and stopping at a few of the most interesting locations.

First we walked through the fresh local market, which was amazing to see. Everything is naturally grown and organic, with no preservatives. The people do not even use refrigerators or ice for the local fish, meat or produce…that is how fresh it is! Our tour guide explained to us how the people buy, cook and eat every single day. The only buy enough food for one day and return to the open air market for the next day’s meal. Everything is recycled and nothing goes to waste. I really admired seeing such a sustainable society work so perfectly. It is so different from our concept of eating, where we are accustomed to not knowing where our food comes from. However, here you know exactly which local farmer your produce comes from and where your meat comes from…they even hang the camel head outside the shop which sells camel meat (they eat camel meat often)!

After passing through the market, we walked through the coppersmith portion of the Medina. We saw men diligently hammering and working on constructing pots, pans, utensils, anything you can think of. I continued to notice the sustainability of this society as our tour guide explained how people bring their old pots and pans to the coppersmiths and they melt them down again and make new ones. It is so awesome! We saw many young boys working alongside their fathers in the coppersmith quarter, as families there continue the tradition of passing their craft down to their sons. It was here that I really began to notice how women have such a subordinate role in their society. Not only are they often not given the opportunity to be educated or learn their families craft, they are seldom even seen outside the home. Their primary job is to stay at home with the children, and sadly enough from a young age they are taught their subordinate position in society. Our director had warned us that it would be shocking to witness the fact that women are really treated as second class citizens. It really was sad to see this during various points in our trip.

Next, we went to the local pharmacy and watched as the pharmacist explained the purpose of all the natural oils, medicines and beauty products. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip, because it was so amazing to see how all the natural products (with no chemicals and preservatives) work the same way as our beauty products and medicines. Needless to say, I was so impressed with these products that I spent a little over what I planned on Christmas presents! After the pharmacy we went to the area of the Medina where the leather tannery is. Phewww what a smell! They gave us mint leaves to hold under our noses so that we could handle the smell as we walked through there. They leather tannery was extremely interesting. All the hides are dyed by hand, which is allowed because they use no chemicals, only natural dye. Even though it smelt really bad, it was awesome to see all the amazing bags and shoes they make out of the leather…all by hand! Our next stop was the place where they hand make carpets. Women work for years on the intricate designs of these rugs, they are amazing! My roommate Jill did a great job bargaining and she bought a beautiful rug for her family. Even after some great bargaining they were pretty expensive, so I decided to not attempt the bargaining process. After having lunch at a restaurant in the Medina (we had yummy cous-cous!) we went to the shop where they make scarves! I wish I could have bought a scarf for every friend and family member, because they were unbelievable! Even when I bargained well they were really expensive, but it is understandable after you see how they make them!

After all these amazing experiences in the Medina, we maneuvered our way out of the puzzling labyrinth of streets and headed back to the bus. We took the bus to the ceramic portion of the city, a little outside the Medina. This is where they make amazing mosaics for fountains, tables, plates etc. We watched a man make the pottery and learned all about the process of making pottery. We also watched some men hand painting mugs and plates…so awesome! After spending some more money I don’t have in the ceramic shop ;) we went back to the hotel. That night we went to watch a belly dancing show which was incredible!