10th
Feb 2016
Wandering through
one of the largest souks in the world
Having decided
last night to go on an organized tour of Fez, we were up and organized and at
the campsite office by 9.30, ready to head out.
There were 6 other people from the campsite on the tour with us – a
Dutch couple, a German couple, and a Swiss couple – So the tour van was full,
along with our guide Wafi and the driver.
And off we went to the hustle and bustle of Fez. Fes is much larger than
most of the towns we had been in recently, and is the oldest of the four imperial
cities in Morocco, founded in 789. The
entire city has been declared a World Heritage site.
Fez is really 3
cities in one - Fez el Bali (Old Fez)
was founded by Moulay Idriss II at the end of the 8th Century. At
the end of the 13th Century the Merenid Sultans added many jewels of
Hispano-Moorish architecture to the Old City and built Fez el Jdid (New Fez)
outside the walls. Then during the 20th
Century the French built a modern city, the Ville Nouvells, about 2 kms to the
west.
The two key buildings/institutions in Fez are
the Kairaouine Mosque that was built in 859 by refugees from Tunisia, and the Kairaouine
University founded near the same time and claiming to be one of the oldest
Universities in the world. And both of these are located in the Medina, or Old
City. But first we drove down the
majestic tree lined Avenue Hassan II, the main axis, and trying very hard to
emulate the Champs Elysée. We then
arrived at the Royal Palace, or Dar el-Makhzen, that was built in the 13th
Century. It has been totally renovated
but is not open to the public – One can only admire the 7 doors (one for each
day of the week) and their intricate brasswork.
Looking away from the palace one looks SW down the long wide avenue
towards Ave Hassan II.
Down the side of
the Palace is the Mellah, or Jewish quarter. Since the 14th Century
Fez has been a refuge for Jews, who in return always supported the Sultan. Very few Jews live here now, but the houses,
with big balconies looking out onto the street, are in marked contrast to the
Muslim styles. The spices and other
potions offered in store fronts along the road always delight, and fill the air
with their rich aromas. Wandering on down here with the immense Palace walls on
our left (with storks up on the parapets !), we went towards the Medina before
our car suddenly re-appeared and we jumped in to go somewhere else first !
Somewhere else
proved to be an old castle up on a hillside to the south of the Medina,
overlooking Fez, and providing spectacular views. The first thing you see are
the acres and acres of graves – This old cemetery is centuries old and is the
reason that Fez has never grown to the SE – The graves can never be
disturbed. The views from up here
enabled one to clearly see the Kairaouine Mosque with its enormous green tiled
roof and tall minaret, and also the original University building with its
pyramid shaped green tiled roof. Looking
across the Medina towards the northern hills, we could see the ruined towers
around the Merenid Tombs, and below them, dots of red on the ground, which were
the leather animal skins laid out during the beginning (and messier phase) of
their tanning process.
We then drove
down from the Borj Sud and went down to a pottery at the edge of the Medina.
The potter on the wheel was operating his wheel by foot, and stunned us when in
about 2 minutes he not only made the base of a small tajine, but , without any
measurements, then made a lid for it that fitted perfectly as soon as he cut it
off the wheel ! We then saw the process
for making and decorating their pottery, as well as the painstaking process of
chipping tiles into tiny pieces of specific shapes and colours so they could be
used to make up the mosaic tables and fountains – Or even whole buildings such
as the Royal Palace or the many Babs, or Gates around the city. Directly outside there were many leather
skins laid in the dirt, drying and curing.
The leather from Morocco is so prized and such good quality that the top
grade of hide (a goatskin used for bookbinding) is known worldwide simply as
“Morocco”.
We were then
driven a short distance to a tannery, normally a smelly and rather nasty place,
(due to the chief ingredients in the process – Pigeon poo and cow urine ) so
bad that visitors are handed a sprig of mint to waft under one’s nose to lessen
the impact ! We climbed up about 4
flights of stairs and came out on their roof top – Overlooking all the many dye
vats used for colouring the hides. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) this
tannery is currently completely renovating its vats, so they are all empty and
spotless – And odourless !! But it is
all part of the modernization and improvement of the industry to try to improve
the working conditions of the people who spend their lives up to their waists
in these vats. Coming back down from the
roof top we visited showrooms on each floor – top floor leather jackets, 1000’s
of them; next floor down shoes (mostly Moroccan babouches, the pointed slippers
everyone wears) and poufs, and ground floor handbags and carry bags ! Their inventory is enormous – Whether they
have the turnover to match, I don’t know.
But certainly some beautiful soft leatherwear to suit most tastes – Even
snakeskin type of jackets for people like Elvis !
From the tannery
we walked into and around the narrow alleyways of the Medina, following our
guide Wafi carefully because if one got left behind or lost in here, I am not
sure how one would ever get out ! It is
enormous, and just twists and turns in every direction. It was getting towards lunch time, so Wafi
took us to a little upstairs place where we had a very pleasant meal of tajines
and pastilla (a kind of pie), and various soups and dips. Very tasty, as is most of the food here in
Moroccco.
When we returned
back down into the narrow alleyways of the Medina, we were quickly reminded of
the hazards of this place when there were shouts of “balak”, or “look out”, and
suddenly 3 donkeys came hurrying through with vast loads of leather hides on
their backs that filled the alleyway – Pedestrians leap into doorways or shops
to try to keep from being trampled or squashed against the walls ! You have to be alert down here as not only
donkeys, but horses and motorbikes are frequently coming past !
We then went
through the narrowest and smallest street in the Medina – I had to crouch and
one is almost having to turn sideways to get through the narrowest parts, but
meanwhile children are rushing past, and men in their jelaba’s (hooded gowns)
are hurrying through ! It is just a
regular thoroughfare, after all !
It was then on
through the maze of alleyways – Chickens live in cages, being killed for each
buyer in the shop – Not the most pleasant shop for me ! Spice alleys, fruit and veggies (we bought
some beautiful broad beans for about 20 cents), and then the “silk” and garment
area. The ladies gowns etc are mostly for
weddings, but they are woven from a material that looks like silk, but is
actually made from fibres from the cactus – One that looks like an agave but is
bigger. Past leather bag shops, berber
carpet shops, woodworking shops (including coffins !), and on to a small square
and one of the many mosque entrances.
The enormous
Kairaouine mosque has almost been swallowed up by the Medina, being built all
around. As a result one unexpectedly
comes across entrances to the mosque all over the place as one wanders somewhat
blindly around the alleyways. On this
occasion we came across a very ornate doorway, and were allowed to peak into
the outer halls, while through a small gap in the roofs above us we could see a
small part of the green tiled minaret so we could work out roughly where we
were !
From there it was
on down to a carpet shop ! Moroccan
carpets in general, and Berber carpets in particular, are quite sought after,
although after the fine Iranian carpets we were used to in Dubai, they seemed
more like rougher tribal carpets to me – Still very nice, I like tribal
carpets, but not so finely made (ie less knots per sq inch). This building was once the hoe of a wealthy
local, and is 3 stores high with a roof top. The central roof would once have
been open to let breezes in, as well as the rain, so the floor is tiled, has a
drain in the middle of the floor and a raised section around the outside to
prevent any excess water entering the rest of the house. The roof is now
closed, but the narrow staircase takes you up the various floors to the roof –
where we had an amazing view out over the rooftops of the medina of Fez –
Mostly satellite dishes ! And in a room there were women weaving carpets. Women whose husbands have died or left them
have a hard time surviving, and this carpet co-operative gives work to such
women, ensuring they can make a living and carry on with their lives. Janet and the other ladies on the tour had a
go at weaving, but I think were more hindrance than help !! Amazing to see them at work on this laborious
task.
Then we were
taken back down to the ground floor where, after the customary mint tea, the
carpets were unrolled in front of us, to tempt us to part with our money. Since we were all camping, they weren’t ever
going to have much success, but for some reason I was singled out as “the man
most likely to buy”, and I was taken up to the top floor to see an array of
their “finest carpets” ! All very nice,
but somehow I managed to escape (I do like carpets, so it is hard !), joined
the others, and finally we all escaped back into the Medina.
More donkeys in
the alleyways, more views into Mosques, and finally into a perfume shop where
those interesting argan nuts that have been “processed” by goats were being
individually cracked by girls using stones, and then the kernels crushed to
obtain the oils. In this instance,
everyone was given a hand massage of argan oil, (very nice), and after a polite
“Merci, mais non” we all trouped out again !!
Poor traders were having a bad day with us !
Just down the
road we found a bakery, and on sticking our heads in found the baker down in a
pit in front of the oven, using a long spatula on a stick to put bread in or
take it out. A hot and dirty job (with
the charcoal or whatever they use), and in the summer must be a nightmare.
During our wanderings in the Medina we had several times been almost run over
by women carrying trays covered with towels – It turns out it is their
bread. By law no one can have their own
bread ovens in the Medina due to the danger of fire, so the women in each
family continue to make their bread each day, as is the custom, and then they
pop down with their uncooked loaves and hand them over to the baker who bakes
them in a central (and safe) location, and they then take the cooked bread home
! Very simple and logical, and keeps
everyone happy !
Our final stop was
a “silk” shop, where they weave the cloth made from the silk like fibres of the
cactus plant. With all their colourful wares hung on the walls, the building
was another of the older houses with an open roof and tiled floor, although now
the roof is closed over. We watched the
guys on the old wooden manual loom for a while, and then, instead of mint tea,
they dressed us all up in Berber scarves !
Good for a giggle, but in this case a couple of the girls fell for some
of the material, especially when the owner demonstrated how small he could fold
the material ! Janet was one of those
who succumbed, and we ended up walking out with a small bundle under our arms !
Now we were
finally done – It was after 6 pm and we came out of the Medina to find our
transport waiting for us to take us home through the traffic. Interestingly, they have mobile phone towers
around town here, and, like other places around the world, have tried to
disguise them s palm trees. But in this
case the fake “palm trees” even have fake “bunches of dates” hanging down
! Never seen that before !
We finally got
back to the camp site and after thanking our guide (and of course paying him
!), we walked down to our vans. On the
way we passed some caterpillars all in a circle, nose to tail. Remember those cobwebs hanging in fir trees
that I had posted photos of both in Spain and also a couple of places down here
? Well, we were told by our friend Jill
in Spain that these were “Processional Caterpillars” that form long lines nose
to tail, but we had never seen them.
Well here they were – Jill was right !
Only trouble for these ones was that they had formed a circle rather
than a line, and as a result were not going anywhere – Except round and round
in a circle ! I wonder how long it takes
the leader to realize he has been there before ! Anyway, we left them on the ground
(apparently they can be quite irritating if you touch them), and headed back to
the vans for a quick beer and chat, and then to turn in. We were exhausted – It had been a long day of
walking and exploring.
Pics are here :- https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/0419ADayExploringFez?authkey=Gv1sRgCO_LwI-VgZLYlwE
