Morocco - Fez - Day 5

Our guide picked us up from our Riad in person at 8.00am - we didn't even get the breakfast from our Riad as we were out too early!  We popped our head in the door of the Mosque that was next to our Riad.  Apparently this is where the people come if they are ailing or sick to ask to get better...

Walked aroumd the Medina - this shop was selling bridles for horses and donkeys...

This is a cart full of cactus flower.  We got to try one, they are sweet - a little melon like....

In the Medina - the alleyways here are narrower than the ones in Rabat and Meknes...

This is a painted wall, something to do with the elections....

An ancient building, founded by a weatlhy woman, in the medina.

We then visited the Co-op where they sell all the carpets.  When they found out we were from New Zealand, they showed us Dave Dobbyn's file...

Here is Anne with our Guide.  He consequently offered me 1 million camels for Anne.  I seriously considered it, seeing each camel is worth about 2000 euros :)  I just didn't have anywhere to put the camels so had to decline!!!

These are the three silk carpets we loved....

Three girls actually weaving the carpets!  Notice they have plastic wrapped around their wrists - due to blisters and callouses.  They apparently work no more than 3-4 hours per day as it's hard on their hands, back and eyes.  They were lovely - I was able to communicate with them a little, and they did up a little woolen friendship bracelet, which I'm still wearing 10 days later....

We were then taken to the Tannery.  We were given some mint to smell as we arrived to help take away the terrible pong.  The whole tannery is in view here - the white pits are where the leather is soaked in pigeon poop and limestone (the reason for the smell), and the darker ones are where the skins are dyed.  This week is Brown and Red, and last week it was yellow....

Yellow skins drying in the sun from last week...

Inside there were lots of shops - selling bags, leather jackets, and more bags.  There was a bit of choice too which made it hard.  I bought a leather handbag for Mum, and Anne managed to get a great bargain on a very high quality leather jacket, getting it for 100 euros down from 420 euros.  I should shop with Anne more often!

After the Tannery we were taken to our guides Grandma's for lunch in her berber home.  Beautiful chicken Tajine and fresh Pomengranate afterwards.  Gorgeous home - with beautiful furnishings and tiled walls, very typically moroccan.  Anne and Grandma who is about 73.

We were then taken to this amazing Hammam where we were covered in olive oil soap, then scrubbed until we were red, sauna'd, cold spa, then a hot shower.  The baths were amazingly beautiful with marble finishes, which made it slippery on the tables!  Incredibly clean too.  We met some Moroccan women also at the Hammam and they told us they come once a month or so.  The lady we met was 47, but looked 30.  She asked Anne if she was the same age!   Anne looks pretty good for 47 don't you think - she's holding up well!  

Morocco - Meknes to Fez - Day 4

After a so-so nights sleep - I didn't find the bed all that comfortable, nor was it very big!  It was hard and it dug into all my bruises I have collected on my travels.  We popped upstairs for our breakfast which was included - hot mint tea and french pastries.  Chocolat du Pain.  Yum.  Jeffrey then came and got us and we set off for a wander in the Medina, with Liang showing us some amazing artists.  

This man is hammering in silver thread into various creations.  Very focussed and dedicated, and the items he makes are beautiful....

Here they are making the shape.....

And this is what it looks like once the silver thread is hammered into it.  Beautiful artwork.  See the plates on the wall - I bought one of them.  I wish I now had bought two as they would look good as a pair.  I guess I will have to return!!!

Wandering around in the medina - carpets for sale...

As we were leaving Meknes, Anne and I came across this chewing gum in a vendors cart.  We asked to buy it, but it was his own so we couldn't.  We took a photo as proof though.   Anyone want to chew on this!!!

Jeffrey and Liang dropped us off at the train station and I was sad to leave them.  So much fun and what an amazing country they are living in.

Anne and I then caught the train to Fez.  We happpened to start talking to somone on the train who mentioned that his nephew guides visitors around Fez, doesn't do it for money as they come from a wealthy family, but do it because they love their city.  They said 200 dirham for the two of us would be fine for 2 days (about 20 euros).  So we decided to take them up on it.

We stayed in a Riad in the heart of the Medina and it takes about 25 minutes to get there.  Someone from the Riad met us at the train station, then walked us to our Riad.  We were given a map, checked in, dropped our luggage, put a load of washing on and hung it out, and then we were off again with our new tour guide.  First he took us up out of the Medina high on the hill to see the old city of Fez...

Approx 450,000 people still live in this walled city, pretty much as they have done so for many generations.  The medina is narrow and some parts are steep.  No cars - only donkeys, horses and the odd motorbike.  You can see where are are staying in the above photo - look to the green dome and tower (the first one you come to from the bottom of the photo)  If you enlarge that part of it, you can see our riad - from the washing on the line just above it!!  So yes - we were in the heart of the medina.

On top of the hill was an old Roman ruin - but I am not sure of the history of it.  The sky was pretty blue though!

Our guide then took us to his mothers for tea and cookies, for an experience in a real Berber family home.  They lived in the New City in a lovely apartment.  We were served Mint Tea and beautiful food and got to watch a bit of a Bollywood movie on Television.  It was then arranged that Anne would go out and see the nightlife, but I would probably stay in as I was getting tired.  The driver then drove us back towards the Medina where we were staying first stopping at the palace so we could take photos...

Then took us up to the South Side of the city for a different view, again from a building I know nothing about - I'll have to do a bit more research...

We walked back to our Riad stopping at a restaurant for a bite to eat where we had a Vegetabe dish and  a Pastille - which was a bun filled with spiced chicken.  It was gorgeous.  We had to climb four flights of berber stairs to get to the rooftop where we ate, and once again, we could see our Riad from the rooftop.  I've decided to live in Fez, you need to be extremely fit, not only for all the steep alleyways, but also for the staircases you have to climb!

Once we were in the Riad, we were too tired to do anything else, so we stayed in and had an early night!