The Fez Phase

At one point on our drive into Fez we pulled over to use Google maps to check our progress to the riad we had booked, and just as we had it sorted and were about to pull away a man on a motorcycle pulled up beside us and offered to help. I assured him we were OK but he continued to follow us for the next few kilometres until we pulled up in a little square when it transpired that that was about as close as we were going to get to our lodgings by car.

Our good Samaritan insisted that he didn't want any money but he did escort Laura though the lane ways to our riad while I waited with the car. He returned first and gave me his spiel about being a very good guide and much cheaper than one we would get through the riad. I took his card and promised that in the unlikely event that we decided to hire a guide we'd call him first. Laura then returned with instructions on where to park the car which involved driving back around to the square on the other side of the block where the obligatory parking attendant guided me as I backed up a one-way street into a parking spot. Of course there was an obligatory fee - in this case 100 dirhams for three days.

We collected all our gear from the car and made our way back to the Riad Myra. Where we were both suitably wowed! Laura had seen the courtyard already but we were both blown away by that and our beautiful room - the Matrimonial Suite no less. (See the photos for why we were so impressed by the courtyard and room).

Fisheye view of the lobby.

Looking towards our bedroom door.

Our room.

Looking out our door.

After a short rest, and armed with a map the riad had given us, we set out to start exploring the maze that is the Fez medina. Starting from the square where our car was parked we working our way up through some narrow lanes lined mostly with eateries until we reached the Blue Gate. We went through it and wandered some way along the outside of the medina wall before re-entering further down. Following the signposted Red Path that was described on our map we made our way to the lower parts of the medina and then back up along the alley way known as the Big Slope. There was a big mix of stalls - carved wood, art, jewellery, bags, leather goods, clothes, food and cosmetics were amongst the items represented. The standard offers as we passed most of the little shops were "Just for looking Madam" or "We have no pressure".

A whole lot of nutella? The bees were attracted to it anyway.

At one point we were assailed by a very eager tout who really wanted us to come with him to see the tanneries. However at this stage we were just heading back up the Big Slope to find a restaurant for dinner so we had to insist that were not interested at this time. He eventually stormed off saying that he hated Australians. A couple of older gents who had heard this exchange commented that the young man "only had money in his heart" and not to take any notice of him.

No bulls allowed in here!

Once we had trekked back up the Big Slope and exited the medina proper we settled on the restaurant Hakim for dinner, and it turned out to be a good choice - particularly for the Moroccan Salad. Though we noticed that another couple had a Salad Royale which looked nice too.

Satisfied with our first foray into the Fez medina we returned to our riad where we were able to unwind and enjoy a good night's sleep.The next morning we enjoyed a hearty Moroccan breakfast included with our riad fare - coffee, juice, bread (French, Arabic and toast), home made yoghurt, cheese, eggs, dates and fruit (melon or grapes).

Donkeys are a common sight in the medina.

Thus fortified we set off on the day's challenge which was to see the famous - and smelly - tanneries in action in the heart of the medina. And we were determined to attempt this challenge without the hassle of hiring a guide to find them since we were happy to embrace any serendipity we might experience in the process of wandering on our own. Having walked the Big Slope yesterday afternoon we descended into the medina today via the Little Slope, which run more or less parallel. Apart from being not as steep most of the wares on offer were much the same until you reached the bottom where you found more of things like soccer shirts and Nike shoes for sale.

Colourful scarves.

They gave us a lead to the tanneries.

We were tying to follow a combination of the coloured pathways to work towards the tanneries but in the end it was a combination of that, Google maps, and following a line of donkeys loaded up with fresh hides that led us to our destination. To view the tanneries in action you have to go into one of the tannery shops which sell the resulting leather goods, since they all back onto the actual tannery with viewing balconies at the back of the shop overlooking the different work stages of the tanning process.

Workers in the tannery vats

Vats and hides drying.

Different vats for different processes.

On the advice of Lonely Planet we chose the shop numbered "10" as their balcony is supposed to offer the best view. One of the shop attendants was more than happy to lead us through the shop to the balcony out the back - offering us a small bunch of mint along the way that we could hold under our noses if we wished. (We didn't bother, the smell wasn't something you'd want wafting through your lounge room certainly, but it wasn't that bad). The chap explained that activity was winding down early today due to the Muslim sabbath tomorrow (Friday) so it wasn't as busy as usual. There still was a bit going on though, and the smell hadn't quit yet. We could see the different vats used for different stages of the leather making process and guys waist deep in some of them working on hides, dyes or cleaning the vats.

After the tannery viewing we had the obligatory sales pitch for various leather items, all of which we politely declined. We were then taken for a look at the carpet shop which also had some lovely wares and which we also politely declined to buy any of. We were surprised then to find that we were free to be on our way without even a request for a "tannery viewing fee".

Lots of colourful foods.

Even shoes are colourful.

Shortly afterwards we found a stall selling what we now know to be cactus fruit (courtesy of Simon in Meknes) so we tried a couple. The man selling them peels them for you one at a time and then counts the skins when you have finished - they are about the size of a small kiwi fruit - and charges one dirham each. We shared two and found them to be quite agreeable - sweet and almost as hydrating as watermelon. However they are full of small seeds.

We started to make our way back out of the medina via the Small Slope. We were feeling pretty good about finding the tanneries without the need for a guide. We were also feeling pretty hot and a bit hungry so we called in at the Hakim restaurant for a Salad Royale and some cold orange juices. Thereafter we returned to our riad for rest to wait until some of the heat went out of the day.

A view of the park in newer part of town.

For our next excursion we set off to follow the green line through the park and onwards to the new part of the city. The park was quite pleasant - there were lots of people strolling around. We continued on to the city walls and ended up passing through yet another market. This one included something we hadn't seen for sale as yet - donuts! Of course we had to try one, and it wasn't too bad. Passing through the markets we ended up in the Jewish Quarter, though we declined a chap's offer to take us to see the synagogue.

The gate to Royal Palace.

Gate detail  up close.

We also saw the entrance to the Royal Palace with its ornate doors - and lots of people photographing them. Unfortunately the interior is not open to the public as the palace is still used by the Moroccan royal family.

Finally we turned back for the comfort of our riad. We were feeling pretty tired as well as hungry by the time we were nearly there so instead of going for a sit down meal we just contented ourselves with some takeaway paninis. After eating these in our room I still felt a bit hungry so I ventured out again to find something dessert-like to cap off our meal. I settled on a selection of little traditional Moroccan cake-like sweets that were sold by weight. I also found a nice fruit salad in a delicious juice. Together Laura and I polished these off to our great satisfaction.

After another good night's sleep and delicious in-house breakfast we decided to make Friday a day for exploring a little further afield. So we braved the Fez traffic to head off to Azrou via Ifrane. We will also be doing the drive as far as Ifrane tomorrow on our way to Merzouga so it was good practice for getting out of the city. (We managed to make a couple of wrong turns that we now won't make tomorrow).

We didn't actually stop in Ifrane but it looked very green and with much more French than Moroccan architecture. It was actually built by the French as a village modelled on the Swiss Alps. They were the first sloped roofs we have seen in Morocco.

Monkeys playing in the trees.

Monkey loves peanuts!

In Azrou we were interested to see the national park where monkeys could be hand fed. We couldn't find any sign of them though we did find a nice patisserie. Laura spoke to a local chap who explained to us how to find the national park in question - it turns out it we had passed the turnoff to it nearly half way from Ifrane. (Thanks for the great directions Lonely Planet!) And so we found the National Park after all, with its signature 40 metre tall dead oak tree and monkeys that could be hand fed. We didn't feed the monkeys ourselves but watched others do so, and also watched the monkeys race through the trees and play with each other. We also went for a short walk up the hill and through the trees. It's a long time since we've been for any sort of bush walk.

The old dead tree.

Our next task on the way back to Fez was to turn off to see the cave houses at Bhalil. We found Bhalil without any problem but couldn't see any sign of cave houses or anything to indicate that they might even exist. We gave up and drove on to Sefrou thinking we might be able to find out something there. No dice, but Laura managed to read up on Bhalil via Google and discovered that the cave houses are made to look like normal houses from the front and you have to hire a guide for a tour if you want to see inside any of them. We were not up to that so after buying some nice fruit from a local market we headed back to Fez.

No problems on the drive back in - we managed to top up on fuel for tomorrow's big drive, and courtesy of yesterday's walk we knew how to drive back to the "parking street' without having to reverse into it to park.

We had planned to have our farewell Fez dinner at Hakim's again, but they were closed for the sabbath so after a short search we ended up at a place nearly opposite to it. Laura really enjoyed her vegetable tagine.

Night flea market near the Blue Gate.

Spices anyone?

In a pickle about which ones to buy.

We were too full for dessert straight away so we went for a final short walk through the flea markets in the square near the Blue Gate, down a lane selling all manor of spices and fresh meat (lamb's heads anyone?), then cut through a connecting lane to come back up via the Big Slope. This gave us enough appetite to have another of the yummy fruit salads that I'd bought last night - except that this time since we were eating in we had it topped with ice cream as well. Delicious!

Back at the riad it was a matter of settling our account, confirming that it we were OK for an early 7:00am breakfast tomorrow, and then making sure that we were all packed and ready for a quick getaway the next morning - the biggest driving day of our trip.