Fes, Morocco
I woke up late this morning after getting to bed so late earlier this morning! I woke and am still not impressed with my room. The bathroom floor is still damp from the last person's shower (or from the person who cleaned the room). I remembered that in both Cusco, Peru and Athens, I had to throw my used toilet paper into a bin, I asked about that on a Morocco travel site. Most people said to ask the riad but one person that lives in Fes said thank you and to ask the riad, but in the medina it would most likely be yes. It has to do with their very old plumbing. Toilet paper gets stuck in the small pipes which can cause blockages or breakage. I haven't seen the riad owner since I checked in early this morning, so I have been doing that. Very chilly this morning, temps in the 40s, with a forecast high in the 60s (that's in Fahrenheit). I didn't sleep well last night after such a weird and uncomfortable entrance to the city. Also, so many people online have warned that you really should hire a guide when you visit the Medina. So I had weird dreams about that. Well, I'm staying in the medina, so I just need to figure it out. Up, dressed, and out. I decided to skip the stress of trying to deal with/figure out the shower this morning. Today I have a few vague ideas, but mostly it is to wander the medina. And buy water and eventually get cash. I set out toward the western gate which is on the opposite side from where I am. It is less intense than the medina we visited in the middle east. There are vegetable, fruit, meat, bread, and tourist stalls everywhere! But there is a little bit of space between them. And there are cafes, restaurants, and tea shops everywhere! Some stalls are spread out on the walkways--especially the tourist souvenir ones. There are very few motor powered vehicles in the medina. It is a warren of paved paths with no rhyme or reason. Most are named, but some are in arabic script--its funny seeing that pop up in Google Maps! You can use Google Maps in some areas, but it blanks out in others. It's pretty glitchy tracking where you are everywhere though. So I just look and see that I will be needing to turn right at some point and try it. I have had to backtrack several times when I've been searching for somewhere specific. Natives will see you looking down and obviously lost and ask where you are going. Most point me in the right direction, a few have walked me to the right place. Never far enough, though, for me to feel like I needed to pay them. I always go past the path to my riad!
So I walked to the Bab Boujeloud, the western entrance to the old city. The official name for the medina of Fez is Fez El-Bali. It is the oldest part of the city. Occasionally a motorcycle tries to get through in the outer regions, but not often. Usually there are small horses, but mostly big handcarts that move things around. I did walk down one street near us that ended in an a cul-de-sac with huge tour buses pulling in and a few hotels there. There is some type of motor cycle shop or group there as well, because there are a ton of them all over. It must attach to a street, I just didn't see where that was. There was also a small area with benches and plants--sort of an ad hoc neighborhood square. The parts of Fez that I've seen (admittedly, just the medina) have no small neighborhood squares with benches and trees. They are everywhere in France and Spain, just not here.
So, back to the Bab Boujeloud. It is a fairly new entry gate, built in 1913, a thousand years after the others. The side facing out is covered with blue ceramic tiles painted with flowers and calligraphy while the inside is green which is evidently the official color of either Islam or peace, depending on interpretation. It is in the Moorish style.
There are many fountains to be found, many are still working and I've seen people getting water from them. They are tiled, as are many doorways. Some doors and doorways are also decorated with painted and carved wood and awnings overhead.
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| Tile around a random doorway |
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| A working fountain |
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| A doorway with tile and painted wood |
After walking and walking, I was feeling hungry (I hadn't eaten since dinner at the airport the night before). I walked back to the street with the cul-de-sac and saw a "terrace" restaurant up above. I had to find the street to get there, then ate there. I wanted to be out on the terrace, but it was too windy, so I ate inside at a large window that looked outside. I was the only customer for a late afternoon meal. I ordered chicken tangine with rice, a typical Moroccan dish. Tagine is a stew cooked in a specific type of pot with a hood that allows it to steam. However, I received a plate of rice with many pieces of chicken placed on it. Also, bread and sauce. For about 8 dollars. It was very good, but not the tagine I was expecting. And I drank bottled water. I read while I was eating and afterward. Morocco is another country that does not bring the bill until you ask, and often they just tell you how much it is. Morocco is a place to haggle for things, but I read in an online comment not to haggle for food prices because there is not much markup and they are trying to make ends meet. Also, they have prices listed, so it is best to just pay them what they ask.
After that I just walked more, then went back to the riad to work on my blog posts (the four that I am behind on!) and went to bed early on my very hard bed.
