October 29, 2018

October 29, 2018

Last night we had dinner at the home of a Fez Moroccan family who lives in the old Medina. We started with dessert, then moved to an Anise-flavored soup, then bread with several tasty purees. One was lentil bean, another tomatoes and peppers, and the last a sweet pumpkin. The main course was Tajine, a dry stew named after the conical Tajine crock-ware it is steam-cooked in. We finished with lemon tea and fruit.

Fez is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Morocco. Like Rabat, it has several walled Medinas of various ages. The oldest, established 1200 years ago, is a World Heritage Site. I would love to walk it myself, but its winding narrow alleys are a maze where getting lost several times is expected. So we went on a guided tour of this world’s largest pedestrian zone.

After starting with another overlook of Fez, we entered the old Medina through the Bab Rcif Gate and traversed some of the narrowest alleys barely wide enough for one person. We then walked past craft shops practicing various trades. It all seemed to be done the traditional way. The copper and silver smiths were loudly banging peen hammers and the cloth dyers were hand-dipping fabric. Even the garbage men hauled trash using donkeys.

Fez, with the oldest university and many Madrasa schools was the intellectual center of Morocco. We visited the abandoned 17^th century Madrasa Acharatine. It is a peaceful oasis. Instruction took place in the cavernous central courtyard. It is highly decorated with mosaic tiles and intricate wood carvings. Students lodged in the surrounding upper floor dormitories.

Our next stop was the required Rug store. It is housed in a similarly decorated building. The carpets are nice but very expensive. Before leaving we went to the roof for a bird's-eye view of the Medina. I laughed at the sea of dish antennas. Evidently a lot of people still live within this old section.

We stopped at a Carpentry Museum housed in the old Nejjarine Fondouk or traditional Moroccan Inn.  I looked around quickly before accompanying the guide to a clothing store to buy a Djellaba. This is a monk-like hooded cloak that is popular among the locals here. I think it might serve me well on cold Tucson winter mornings.

Afterwards we had lunch in another elaborately decorated building. Fez really drives home the point that you can't judge a book (or home) by its cover (exterior). We had similar starters as last night before our entrée of Lamb with Couscous. It was quite tasty.

Our last stop in the old Medina was the Chouara Tannery. Here leather is made the same way it has for a thousand years using traditional techniques and natural dyes. We view the operation from the terrace of a leather store. The factory consists of almost two hundred open vats. One third are limestone pits where the leather is prepared using a mix of salt, urine and pigeon droppings. The rest of the vats are devoted to dying the leather. The process is all manual with guys knee deep in the vats working the leather hides. It is a stinky, dirty process. We have to hold a mint sprig next to our nose to avoid nausea.

On the way out of the Medina, we stopped at a bakery. It is BYOD, Bring your own Dough. Residents bring their prepared loaves for baking in this communal wood-fired oven

On the way back to the hotel we stopped in the Mellah or walled Jewish Quarter of Fez. For centuries the city had a large Hebrew community who mostly all left when Israel was established. We walked the extensive cemetery and its sea of white plaster monuments. We also visited the old Ibn Danan Synagogue that has been turned into a museum. Next door is the Fez Royal Palace. We are only allowed to view the opulent gate. It is modern having been built in 1968.

Muslims are teetotalers so I have only had one beer since arrival. Aimee and I went to the supermarket near the hotel and found the special Foreigner's section where I bought a six-pack of beer to drink in the room.