Magical Morocco
Trip Start
Aug 10, 2010
1
21
22
Trip End
Oct 28, 2010
Fes, Morocco
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Luckily there was one flight that flies from Seville to Fes and we got it. As soon as we arrived in Fes, we received a total culture shock, especially after Spain. For one thing it was very humid, and since the airport was more in the countryside, it smelled like ash from farmers burning their leaves (or their trash, I wasn't sure). Of course the people were also dressed much differently. Being an Arab country, the men wore long robes and the women wore either a head scarf, or full on coverings showing only their eyes. But this is why I came to Morocco, to experience something completely different, and I knew I made the right choice.
When we arrived to our hotel (they don’t have hostels in Fes), we came up to a plain old concrete set of buildings with an alley in between them. We walked through the narrow alley to a door at the end of one corner. When we walked inside we were created with what could be described as an oasis among desolation. The interior of the "Riad" was breathtaking. It was in the traditional Muslim style, with an open air square in the middle, surrounded by rooms. It was beautifully decorated with ornate tiles, and sand stone carvings that surrounded the whole room. We felt like we had entered a palace.
After getting settled we hired a tour guide to take us around the Medina (old city), because without one, you could easily get lost. The cobble stone streets of the medina were very narrow and filled with tiny shops of all kinds, from souvenir shops, to butchers, to leather makers. It really made you feel like you had gone back in time. Chickens sat on top of cages that also had rabbits, pigeons and other animals inside them. The one thing you also notice is the smells, some pleasant, some not (mostly not). We explored the many streets and passage ways for the entire day, seeing sites like old Madrasa’s (Islamic schools) and the place where the famous Jewish philosopher Maimonides used to live and his complicated water clock that he built.
Perhaps one of my favorite things about Morocco was the food. Traveling through Spain and being Jewish was not an easy thing. Pretty much 90% of everything they serve in Spain has pork in it. Now that I was in a Muslim country, pork was hard to find, which was awesome for me. Now I could order whatever I wanted and not worry about it having pork in it. The typical Moroccan dish is cooked in something called a Tagine (tah-zheen). It is basically a ceramic dish with a conical top on it. A typical tagine comes with chicken, beef or vegetables, or a combination of all three. They are cooked inside the tagine together so everything comes steamed, making it very flavorsome. My first meal in Fes was easily the best meal of my trip so far. Needless to say I was very happy from the first bite.
Our second day in Fes would be one that comes with an unexpected surprise. We started the day with a tour of the outer medina walls where we got a panoramic view of the city. After visiting a few of the sites, including the palace, we decided to have lunch next to the blue gate, which was one of the main entrances of the medina. As we were enjoying our lunch, we noticed people starting going up on the roofs of the buildings around us. Hundreds of people were filling the balconies and rooftops, as well as on the small street in front of us. Policemen started to move in to create a pathway between all the people. We hurriedly finished our food and pushed our way up front to try and get a good view of whatever was coming down the street. No sooner that we got to the front of the crowd, we started to hear the pounding of drums, the songs of Arabic flutes and the deep chants of hundreds of people. It turned out that on this day, there is a yearly celebration of the introduction of Islam into the country. Group after group passed through the main gate and into the city right in front of us, dressed in traditional garbs, playing instruments of their region and dancing. It was a huge celebration, with all of the locals singing along and dancing on the rooftops as each group passed. Every group, or tribe that passed by had their own unique elements, from their dress to their instruments to their animals. One group actually had a bull that was blind folded and led through the streets. Other groups had men on camels and horses, playing the Arabic flutes that you usually see in those snake charmer cartoons. It was a very joyous occasion as was obvious on the faces of everyone around us. We all felt really lucky to have been in Fez on this very special day in the country.
Later that day, we decided to go to the Hammam (Arabic bath) in the new city for some relaxation on a massage. On the way back, our taxi driver convinced us that to get to our next destination, Marrakech, the best way would be to hire a taxi and not take the train. That way we get to see the countryside and the Atlas Mountains, as well as stop at important sites along the way. It sounded like a good idea, but whether or not it was a good one was yet to be seen…
