This past weekend, my friends, Maggie and Rebecca, and I went to Fes! What a wonderful city! I had a great time, and there was just such an interesting feel about this imperial city. It wasn't just the monuments and sights that we saw - though those were beautiful as well - it was just the entire feel of the city! Did you know, that Fes is the largest populated area that has no car access? (fun fact thanks to Rebecca) And it's true - the streets are narrow and filled with blind alleys. But the people of Fes know their way around like it's just another city. This website has a great map of the Fes Medina - and even that doesn't encompass the thousands of winding streets of the city!
So bear (bare?) with me! This is going to be a long post - filled with pictures!
Fes El-Bali
The Old Medina was a gigantic maze. We first arrived at our hotel around 11:30am, and we headed out to try to get some lunch before our guided tour in the afternoon. We get onto the main street, and manage to find a road-side sandwich place for a quick lunch. Harassment in Fes is much worse than in Rabat! Men were shouting "konichiwa" left and right, and there were also a few "sister of Jackie Chan?" comments. Maggie and Rebecca also got lots and lots of attention, and it was just a crazy scene.
Our tour began around 2pm, and it was pretty good! Our tour guide took us to the Medersa Bou Inania, the Kaiorouine University (though we couldn't go inside), the tanneries, the carpet workshop, the oil-making store, and some other nooks here and there. Walking around in the Medina was crazy. There was trash everywhere, and kittens hiding in every little corner. There were also lots of mules, often packed with tons of boxes, and when you hear someone screaming "Balak!", you better get out of the way. It was quite the bustling scene! It is nothing like the Medina we are used to in Rabat, where there are about 2 main streets, wide and full of people, and the rest are little alleyways where people live. In Fes, everywhere we turend was another neighborhood. There was the market where they sold leather goods, handicrafts, and pottery. Then there was the neighborhood with the henna women, and argan oils and herbs. There was also the market where there were live chickens waiting to be ordered and taken home. It was just such a cool experience walking amongst it all.
After the tour, we took a little break and returned to our hotel. Afterwards, we went out for a walk and ate at Cafe Clock. We also found the gardens, which were closed. So then we walked some more and went by the Royal Palace. As we were walking, a man kept following us and talking to us, but we just kept ignoring him. He had some pretty sweet lines though: "Open your heart. I make you happy. Why you don't open your heart? Spice girls. Flowers. I like flowers. Show me your eyes. I miss you." When we finally got mad at him and told him to leave us alone or else we'd call the police, he says "You not spice girls! Why you not talk to me!" And finally left.
When we were walking down the street looking for dinner, we were bombarded by restaurant-owners, showing us their menu. All the restaurants offered the exact same food - so they kept trying to entice us by telling us they would give us massive discounts. Finally we chose one up on a terrace to avoid the massive crowds. Fes was a blazing 110 degrees in the afternoon. It's as though we stuck our face to an open oven and left it there. At night, it cooled down only to about 90 degrees, so we were still pretty hot. Finally after dinner, we walked back to our hotel, and relaxed for the evening. We also took the greatest showers ever in our bathroom. The water pressure was perfect, and it was just amazing. Here are pictures from the first day!
Hammam
Oh, the hammam. What an experience! I had heard about the hammam before, because my host family goes there once a week to take their showers. It is the public bath, where they go inside, take off all their clothes, and take a shower there. Usually, there is a women that can do the scrubbing for you. They use what's called a "kiis", which is a prickly scrub, and scrub at you all over to get the dead skins off. Then they use black soap, and wash down your body.
So while we were in Fes, Maggie and I decided to try it out! But we were a little iffy about the whole public, standing-in-an-open-room-with-everybody-else kinda thing. So we found this place that did private hammams! It did cost a little more, but I think overall, it was definitely worth it.
Sunday morning, we wake up, and Maggie and I meet this kind women who took us on a 20 minute walk through the Medina. We arrive, and we change into bathrobes, and go in one at a time.
First, she asked me to lie on my tummy, and she used a soft oil. She would first rub it all over my back, and then use a bucket to pour water all over me to wash it off. Then she used the "kiis", and scrubbed scrubbed scrubbed. It was pretty sore! But I could feel the dead skin coming off. Being here in Morocco, where the medinas are often dirty and filled with smoke, my skin has become pretty gross. After washing that off, she used le savon noir - black soap - and rubbed that in. The soap smelled pretty good. Then I turned onto my back, and she did the front side. After all that, she washed my hair! With Pantene :) Lots of head massages and she also used the black soap for my face. Then she had me stand up, and she stood up onto the bench that I had been lying on, and poured the bucket of water from my head. It was like standing under a waterfall! I almost fell over because the water was so heavy. She did that a couple of times, and then I was done! Took a total of about 50 minutes.
It was quite the experience! Afterwards, my skin was very soft and I felt like my pores were not as clogged up. We were lucky, because on Sunday, the weather was slightly cooler, so we didn't start sweating as soon as we left the building!
Obviously no pictures from the hammam trip...
On our way home though, a Moroccan man approached the woman, and apologized to her. She asked him why, and he said "I am going to marry these two girls. They are beautiful. Tell them to wait for me. I will marry them. I love them."
Fes el-Jdid
After the hammam, we went back and got Rebecca, and we went to visit the gardens and Fes el-Jdid. This is known as the newer part of Fes, though it is still very old. Here, we visited the Jewish Quarter, Mellah, and some synagogues. We obviously looked out of place, and very lost, so a man approached us and said he would show us around. So we figured we had no better idea, and getting lost in the Medina is a big problem, so we followed him. He showed us around a little bit, and then we paid him for his service. Fes el-Jdid was not as exciting in my opinion, but it was still cool! And we got to see the Boujeloud gardens, which were very pretty. Here are pictures from that:
After that, we ate a late lunch/early dinner, and returned to our riad to get our bags before going to the station. We really enjoyed staying at the riad! And everytime we came in, the owner would says things like "This is your home now! Want some tea? I can make tea right now. No? Okay, your room ok? Ok for you? Ok, bye bye now!" They were all super sweet. Bye bye Riad Ahlam!
For the whole Fes album, go to Facebook!
Well, today is back to work! And Happy 4th of July from Morocco!! Apparently, there was a 4th of July celebration at the US Embassy in Rabat yesterday. Sadly, I wasn't even invited, because I don't have a US passport...:( I thought they would at least email me....Oh well. Enjoy the fireworks everyone!
So bear (bare?) with me! This is going to be a long post - filled with pictures!
Fes El-Bali
The Old Medina was a gigantic maze. We first arrived at our hotel around 11:30am, and we headed out to try to get some lunch before our guided tour in the afternoon. We get onto the main street, and manage to find a road-side sandwich place for a quick lunch. Harassment in Fes is much worse than in Rabat! Men were shouting "konichiwa" left and right, and there were also a few "sister of Jackie Chan?" comments. Maggie and Rebecca also got lots and lots of attention, and it was just a crazy scene.
Our tour began around 2pm, and it was pretty good! Our tour guide took us to the Medersa Bou Inania, the Kaiorouine University (though we couldn't go inside), the tanneries, the carpet workshop, the oil-making store, and some other nooks here and there. Walking around in the Medina was crazy. There was trash everywhere, and kittens hiding in every little corner. There were also lots of mules, often packed with tons of boxes, and when you hear someone screaming "Balak!", you better get out of the way. It was quite the bustling scene! It is nothing like the Medina we are used to in Rabat, where there are about 2 main streets, wide and full of people, and the rest are little alleyways where people live. In Fes, everywhere we turend was another neighborhood. There was the market where they sold leather goods, handicrafts, and pottery. Then there was the neighborhood with the henna women, and argan oils and herbs. There was also the market where there were live chickens waiting to be ordered and taken home. It was just such a cool experience walking amongst it all.
After the tour, we took a little break and returned to our hotel. Afterwards, we went out for a walk and ate at Cafe Clock. We also found the gardens, which were closed. So then we walked some more and went by the Royal Palace. As we were walking, a man kept following us and talking to us, but we just kept ignoring him. He had some pretty sweet lines though: "Open your heart. I make you happy. Why you don't open your heart? Spice girls. Flowers. I like flowers. Show me your eyes. I miss you." When we finally got mad at him and told him to leave us alone or else we'd call the police, he says "You not spice girls! Why you not talk to me!" And finally left.
When we were walking down the street looking for dinner, we were bombarded by restaurant-owners, showing us their menu. All the restaurants offered the exact same food - so they kept trying to entice us by telling us they would give us massive discounts. Finally we chose one up on a terrace to avoid the massive crowds. Fes was a blazing 110 degrees in the afternoon. It's as though we stuck our face to an open oven and left it there. At night, it cooled down only to about 90 degrees, so we were still pretty hot. Finally after dinner, we walked back to our hotel, and relaxed for the evening. We also took the greatest showers ever in our bathroom. The water pressure was perfect, and it was just amazing. Here are pictures from the first day!
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| Walking in the streets of the Medina |
 |
| Tanneries of Fes! |
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| At the Bou-Jeloud main gate! Also known as "The Blue Gates" |
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| Inside the Bou Inania Medersa |
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| At Cafe Clock! |
Hammam
Oh, the hammam. What an experience! I had heard about the hammam before, because my host family goes there once a week to take their showers. It is the public bath, where they go inside, take off all their clothes, and take a shower there. Usually, there is a women that can do the scrubbing for you. They use what's called a "kiis", which is a prickly scrub, and scrub at you all over to get the dead skins off. Then they use black soap, and wash down your body.
So while we were in Fes, Maggie and I decided to try it out! But we were a little iffy about the whole public, standing-in-an-open-room-with-everybody-else kinda thing. So we found this place that did private hammams! It did cost a little more, but I think overall, it was definitely worth it.
Sunday morning, we wake up, and Maggie and I meet this kind women who took us on a 20 minute walk through the Medina. We arrive, and we change into bathrobes, and go in one at a time.
First, she asked me to lie on my tummy, and she used a soft oil. She would first rub it all over my back, and then use a bucket to pour water all over me to wash it off. Then she used the "kiis", and scrubbed scrubbed scrubbed. It was pretty sore! But I could feel the dead skin coming off. Being here in Morocco, where the medinas are often dirty and filled with smoke, my skin has become pretty gross. After washing that off, she used le savon noir - black soap - and rubbed that in. The soap smelled pretty good. Then I turned onto my back, and she did the front side. After all that, she washed my hair! With Pantene :) Lots of head massages and she also used the black soap for my face. Then she had me stand up, and she stood up onto the bench that I had been lying on, and poured the bucket of water from my head. It was like standing under a waterfall! I almost fell over because the water was so heavy. She did that a couple of times, and then I was done! Took a total of about 50 minutes.
It was quite the experience! Afterwards, my skin was very soft and I felt like my pores were not as clogged up. We were lucky, because on Sunday, the weather was slightly cooler, so we didn't start sweating as soon as we left the building!
Obviously no pictures from the hammam trip...
On our way home though, a Moroccan man approached the woman, and apologized to her. She asked him why, and he said "I am going to marry these two girls. They are beautiful. Tell them to wait for me. I will marry them. I love them."
Fes el-Jdid
After the hammam, we went back and got Rebecca, and we went to visit the gardens and Fes el-Jdid. This is known as the newer part of Fes, though it is still very old. Here, we visited the Jewish Quarter, Mellah, and some synagogues. We obviously looked out of place, and very lost, so a man approached us and said he would show us around. So we figured we had no better idea, and getting lost in the Medina is a big problem, so we followed him. He showed us around a little bit, and then we paid him for his service. Fes el-Jdid was not as exciting in my opinion, but it was still cool! And we got to see the Boujeloud gardens, which were very pretty. Here are pictures from that:
 |
| Maggie and I in the gardens |
 |
| In Mellah - the Jewish quarter of Fes el-Jdid |
After that, we ate a late lunch/early dinner, and returned to our riad to get our bags before going to the station. We really enjoyed staying at the riad! And everytime we came in, the owner would says things like "This is your home now! Want some tea? I can make tea right now. No? Okay, your room ok? Ok for you? Ok, bye bye now!" They were all super sweet. Bye bye Riad Ahlam!
 |
| Rebecca and I in the Riad |
Well, today is back to work! And Happy 4th of July from Morocco!! Apparently, there was a 4th of July celebration at the US Embassy in Rabat yesterday. Sadly, I wasn't even invited, because I don't have a US passport...:( I thought they would at least email me....Oh well. Enjoy the fireworks everyone!
That guy sounds hilarious bahaha.
ReplyDeleteneeds pictures of hammam tbqh
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