MY cautious trepidation was absent on this third visit to
Morocco; I could see the warm, friendly, and welcoming aspects of this
mysterious country along with the cultural strangeness that is so initially apparent to me.
From Casablanca we set out on the excellent train system to
Fes, an ancient city with a central Medina that is more than 700 years
old. For me, this was a return to Fes,
the first time being Fall, 2010. The
intrigue of the Medina persists.
Sure enough, on the train ride we met and engaged a man who
“just happened” to be there who organized a driver and a guide to take us to
“just the right” carpet center, jewelry store, etc. Friend Louise has three times “just happened”
to meet such a Moroccan on three separate train trips. None the less, he was a
good contact and helped us immensely,.....and one does need a Guide in the Medina.
FES
FES
 |
| Louise ahead, making our way to Dar Drissi |
Luckily we had a guide to lead us to our Dar Drissi lodging;
we would not have gone along the narrow plank-straddled passage ways taking
right then left turns to finally rap on the ¾ height door of #24 Dar
Drissi. Inside was a spacious home of
approximately 300 years which would have been occupied by 20 +/- members of a
prosperous civil servant or merchant.
 |
| Central courtyard of Dar Drissi wit our room to the right with a small door within a very large set of doors which could transform the bedroom into a community sitting room. |
A riad is a lodging with a central
garden. A dar is a house with a central courtyard where there are rooms up
3-4 levels around the sides of the open-roof central space. The term riad is often used for both in advertising for guests. There is generally a system for shuttering the open ceiling or pulling a canvas over top to close the space at the time of the rains.
 |
| Our room off the central lobby. |
 |
| From the roof, looking down through to breakfast below in the central lobby of Dar Drissi. John and Joyce Harmon, Louise's brother and sister-in-law, Louise, and I enjoyed several days of exploring, eating, and shopping together. Collectively we left behind some good American dollars. |
 |
| Sun-sheltered seating on the rooftop which also serves for hanging clothing to dry on the lines. |
 |
| From the roof, looking to the south. |
 |
| From the upper roof at night. |
My eye and my camera are dedicated here to collecting images of Moroccan moments that define daily life and aesthetic sensibilities, moments with similarity, moments with contrast.
 |
| When a loaded donkey comes along the driver calls out and all the pedestrians scoot out of the way. There are no motorized vehicles inside the Medina. I mostly got photos of the donkey's ass because of the scurry-out-of-the-way as they approach. |
 |
| Speaking of the donkey's ass, we walked past this shop displaying 5 "sets" early in the day. We came by again later and only one "set" was left......... |
 |
| Dr. Remington, move over ..... here's new signage ideas for your services. |
 |
| Enter here, up the stairs for your dentures, as displayed in the case. |
 |
After lively and competitive haggling, someone bought one of these carpets to take home to Charlottesville, VA |
 |
| These children at daycare sing songs in several languages when the Guide brings visitors in for a few minutes. |
 |
| The egg cart |
Every visitor to Fes goes to one of the two stinky tanneries where young men stand in the urine-based dye vats and sling around the hides to produce the vibrant and lovely leather wares.
Many many visitors proceed to buy leather goods
.... which may continue to have a slight "memory" smell of the processing.
Many many visitors proceed to buy leather goods
.... which may continue to have a slight "memory" smell of the processing.
 |
| The bakers prepare hundreds of loaves a day. In addition to those for restaurants, every home prepares their own dough which are brought daily to the Baker and the loaves are fetched later, warm. |
 |
| The camel head (with tongue hanging out) is to display that for sure the meat for sale here is pure camel meat. |
These containers have lamb or goat or mutton preserved in fat which will keep without refrigeration for a couple years.
 |
| Hakim, our Guide the second day in the Medina |
By far the majority of visitors engage a Guide to lead and to teach
about the history ….. and of course to take one to the specific shops where he
gets a commission. It’s all part of the
deal. Immediately upon meeting our
second Guide we disclosed that we’d already purchased a carpet on day one, and
his face was visibly disappointed.
It would be fascinating to see an areal map of the Fes Medina with residences and shops and schools and clinics and mosques connected by narrow, twisted, dark pathways and stairs. It's been an adaptive architecture over hundreds of years, fitting rooms and passageways into any and all in-between spaces.
It would be fascinating to see an areal map of the Fes Medina with residences and shops and schools and clinics and mosques connected by narrow, twisted, dark pathways and stairs. It's been an adaptive architecture over hundreds of years, fitting rooms and passageways into any and all in-between spaces.
The Fes Medina is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which has funded the construction of supporting beams and scaffolding overhead in the public walkways. It's not uncommon to duck and sidestep in the smaller passages. The donkeys and the carts only maneuver along the main roads.
Our arrival to the busy Medina of Fes was on a Thursday.
By early afternoon on Friday much of the Medina is shuttered for the Holy Day of Prayers.
Save a few shops and cafes for tourists, everything is quiet .... and hot.
 |
| Perhaps our lunch in this rooftop cafe was the source of ..... need I say, the TD we all experienced a few days later......? Down below, the green-colored inside of the Blue Gate is visible. |
 |
| The Medina comes alive again in the evening on Fridays. Here, looking through the Blue Gate ("the most beautiful gate in the city wall") the rooftop cafe from our lunch can be seen. |
MEKNES
On a day trip in a van we visited Meknes, a nearby city, equally old, with fewer tourists than Fes. Driving through the Moroccan countryside was lovely, even while a bit scary on the roads. One large and over-packed truck swayed radically from side to side with way too many wooden crates, really scaring me as we passed it, twice.
On a day trip in a van we visited Meknes, a nearby city, equally old, with fewer tourists than Fes. Driving through the Moroccan countryside was lovely, even while a bit scary on the roads. One large and over-packed truck swayed radically from side to side with way too many wooden crates, really scaring me as we passed it, twice.
 |
| Lunch restaurant in Meknes |
 |
| The ubiquitous photo of King Muhammed VI on the ornamented wall above the restroom, beside the stairs to the rooftop, guarded by the wooden "valet" statue. |
VOLUBILIS
Another leg of the trip was from Mekness to Volubilis, an expansive ruins of a large walled Roman city from the 1st century until 285 AD. Volubilis was the most southern reach of the Roman empire in NW Africa and thrived primarily from olive/oil trade. After partial restoration and conservation, the city’s main thoroughfares, streets, temples and houses may easily be explored. Numerous floor tile mosaics are protected from people, though not from the elements.
 |
| A reservoir lake, the minerette of the mosque, and olive trees in the golden dry landscape of northern Morocco |
No comments:
Post a Comment