Six of us caught the train to Fes the weekend of 10-12 March - a much more pleasurable journey than the bumpy minibus we had to Marrakech the previous weekend! We booked First Class, the only way to go apparently - six-seater compartment, AC, no smoking, assigned seating - and only 198 dirham return each (approx $24) for the 2.5 hour each-way trip.
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| Karen, myself and Mihoko in our suite, overlooking the courtyard |
Our Fes weekend was wonderful. The people seemed friendlier and less aggressive with selling than in other places. Their English was much better too which helped with the bargaining! We stayed in a beautiful Riad (house with courtyard) in the Medina that has been converted into a guest house (as many of them have - one of our client's committee heads owns it). The four girls shared one suite (two rooms) and the two guys were lucky enough to get separate rooms after initially being given a single room with two single beds pushed together! I worked out the problem with the booking - here "suite" can mean either single room or a set of rooms! The only downside was that two of the girls' beds were in fact rock hard couches / divans that weren't even the width of a single bed - so Amy and I didn't get much sleep on Saturday night!
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Our welcome mint tea ("Moroccan whiskey") in the Riad's "courtyard" (covered)
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| One of the girls' bedrooms (2 beds plus divan) |
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| My "bedroom" with rock-hard divan and ensuite |
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On Saturday afternoon we wisely hired a tour guide, Thami, who led us through the Medina's labyrinth and took us to places we never would have found on our own, for example a Riad Co-op where beautiful rugs that widowed or divorced women have made and get the profits from; the tanneries (see below photo for the "gas masks" everyone gets given due to the stench); another Co-op where homeless men made beautiful scarves and bedspreads / throws from vegetable silk made from cactus or from wool. We also saw the old man who sits all day feeding sawdust into the fire that produces the steam in the hammam steam room through the wall (lots of cats were there too, just lying near the oven or on the bags of sawdust - very warm!).
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| A common sight in the Medina |
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| The local men's club where they hang out over tea and ciggies |
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| El-Attarine Medersa |
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| El-Attarine Merdersa |
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| Thami showing us how they get into their shops |
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| A throne for the wedding couple (with carriage to the right) - these are for rent only |
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| The "gas masks" for the Tanneries - a welcome sprig of mint! |
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| The tanneries |
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| At the silk co-op - they use vegetable silk made from cactus |
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| Karen's artistic display of the shoes I bought - they were so cheap ($18) and comfortable I bought 4 colours! |
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The Hammam steamroom oven - note the cats on top of the oven!
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