Fez
…and yeah we’re still driving, and it seems like its never ending.
We’re almost out of the hills and can see the lights of Fez off in the distance, another very big city.
We’re gonna stay on the outskirts tonight. We didn’t want to venture down into the city at night, too easy to get lost.
I turned onto a side street looking for a hotel. We’re looking for a place out of the main stream to get better deal on price.
We came across the Hotel Rex. It’s appeared to be in good shape, it wasn’t a crypt dug into a dirt hillside; and didn’t look like it was going to fall on our heads during the night.
It was reasonably priced and well above our minimum standard, we’ll take it.
Al’s going to sleep in the car again tonight. The rest of us may have got just one room again, not sure.
Its now morning, we’ve decided to go to the Medina for the biggest part of the day. The Medina is where everything happens, so this is where we want to be.
Fez is the third largest city in Morocco but has the largest Medina in the country.
We’ve been driving around for quite awhile and we can’t find a way to the Medina; really; the biggest area in the city and we can’t find a way to get to it.
Most of the centre foreground is the Medina, it’s absolutely massive.
The rest of the city is spread out around the Medina, but way too big to fit into a single frame
Someone asked a guy driving a moped how to get to the Medina,
{but you know it wasn’t me} he offers to take us. We follow him through dozens of streets and corner turns.
We’re finally at the Medina. We could have found it ourselves given enough time; and when we’re done we still have to find our way back to our hotel.
I should mention that there are thousands of mopeds, they’re everywhere, like ants on a hill, and the driving habits of the operators are fucking insane.
The guy wants us to hire him to guide us into the Medina. We decided because it’s so huge that it was a good idea. We settled on a price and in we go.
He took us down narrow alleyways that had hundreds of tiny shops and stalls, we saw mosques and ancient Islamic schools as well.
He took us to a massive tanning souk that reeked of animal urine, which is an ingredient they use in the tanning process.
The smaller of the two tanneries, Fez Medina
We also went to souks that engrave silver, copper, pewter and brass. The processes they used for creating all of their crafts were all old school, no modern techniques were used.
One of the million or so vender shops in the Medina
One of the plazas at a Mosque in the Medina
The Medina in Marrakesh was pretty damn big but nowhere near this size. We spent the better part of the day in the Medina. It was great, we saw so much. Of course we weren’t able to go into the mosques, only into the courtyards. These are old but beautiful buildings and plazas.
The guide brought us out at the end of our tour, got paid and went on his way. We took a drive up to the Kasbah. It is quite large; and virtually a city within a city. Fez is quite an amazing place; especially the Medina.
Kasbah, at the end of our tour, Fez
The Arabic meaning of the word Kasbah generally refers to multiple smaller buildings within a keep, a citadel, or several structures behind a defensive wall.
A Kasbah was also a place for the local leader to live in, and was also a defensive element when the city was under attack.
A Kasbah has high walls, usually without window openings.
The Fez Medina is the biggest and best we’ve seen. It’s so big that to do it real justice you would have too spend a couple of days in a guided walk around, and you still may not get to see all of it.
Our neighborhood in the evening, Fez
It’s now late in the day, we wanted to get back to the hotel before dark.
On the way back wouldn’t you know it, we got lost; go figure, and I wasn’t the least bit surprised either.
We were in the general area of the hotel but couldn’t quite zone in on it.
Someone asked a cop for directions, he was more than happy to help us out and he didn’t even ask us for money.
Down the street a little bit and a couple of left and right turns and we’re there.
Al and I took a walk to the bank to get money changed but it was already closed. So back to the hotel for a bit, then out for something to eat.
By the time we finished dinner it was getting quite late, so it’s back to the hotel for the night. Al’s going to sleep in the car again; he just didn’t want to spend the money.
Sleep tight Al, see you in the morning.
Hotel Rex, our accommodation in Fez
In the morning Al came in and said there was something wrong with the car, it wouldn’t start. I don’t remember if it was a gas or battery problem, or maybe something else.
It was a very chilly night so he probably killed the battery running the heater, and it wouldn’t clutch start either.
We’re going to push it down the street to a garage and have it checked out.
As we started pushing the car a young kid about 10 years old comes along,
he said his father is a mechanic and his shop is just a block away. “Okay kid, lead the way.”
It only took us a couple of minutes to get to the garage.
The kids father said he’ll fix it up and we should come back at 11 o’clock.
We tipped the kid 10Dh [$2.50 Can.] for helping us out, he was blown away. He said his father works almost a whole day for that amount.
Because the bank was closed yesterday Al and I went back this morning to change money while the car was being fixed. Never did remember what the car problem was. [battery problem I think, but not sure]
At 11 o’clock it’s back to the garage. We piled our gear in the car, got in, and we’re on our way.
Next stop, Meknes.
Page #15
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