Fes

25 November
Took a deep breath, asked the friendly man in reception how much a taxi would cost for the Granaries, and he said there's a meter and that's what you pay. Thanked him, onto the street, flagged down a taxi, and after showing him the map in our notes, he took us to a gate at the Royal Palace. We were a little lost as we didn't know where we were exactly, so we rounded the corner and found some guys to ask, and of the 3 one spoke a little English - we couldn't explain much in our crap French  - showed us where we were on the map, and gave us directions to get to the Granaries.
   We walked and walked and finding a small guardpost, asked the soldier there - who was very jolly and friendly - and he pointed to buildings diagonally opposite, maybe 500m away, to take a road opposite the guardpost, and then a left and head for the grande porte … finding ourselves at a reservoir, which serviced the Granaries, which we heard later is now only ornamental, but a substantial body of water nevertheless. We walked along the edge of the reservoir to the big doors, noticing there was restoration work going on on the upper walls of the palace, as Moulay Ismail's Heri es Souani Granaries are a part of the Palais Royale grounds; saw that the walls to the left of the doors were already buttressed. We guessed we had to head left and around a corner and found the entry door to the Granaries, but it was closed … bugger … today being Friday = the holy day for muslims, as well as election day today. Forgot to mention that everywhere on the streets and footpaths today, are election flyers. So much litter!
   We walked a little further, and noticed a cat, then a man appeared and asked if we wanted to see the Granaries, and we said yes, so he made a call and said wait 10 mins and we have to pay a guy the entry fee - MAD10 each - but this guy would show us around, and it was up to us if we wanted to tip him. So we wandered around with him, as he explained that slaves built all of this, that the Granaries, when full, would hold up to a year's supply of food for the King's horses; there were also artesian wells inside, with mechanisms to draw up water; we found out that the cat was very efficient kliller, that there aren't any rats [even birds] there … it followed us around, just like a dog, it was funny to see how all it wanted to do was pounce and chase shadows on the walls. We came to an area where horses were stabled, unroofed now, but capable of holding hundreds of horses … fantastic arches. I asked about the small square holes in the massive walls on the inside and outside, they are to stop the walls from cracking in the heat and cold, and to provide ventilation. The tour was over in perhaps 30-40 mins, and we thanked him [as well as a tip] for the privilege - and damn good fortune to be at the right place at the right time - and doubt either of our tour companions will have seen the Granaries as we did. Wow, how lucky was that?! The man also gave us directions to get back to the Palais Royale, even though we wouldn't be able to enter. And, once we knew all that, we had our bearings and could follow the Intrepid self-guided tour notes.
   It was a long walk, in the sun, the sky was blue, the palace walls high and dark brown, we had to pinch ourselves that we were where we were … sigh! Passed some impressive entry portals, tiled and decorated, one was open and a guard was hanging around and so I went back to have a look and made gesticulations with my fingers regarding "walk" and he said "non, privet" which I guess no mate, it's private, no access" and with a thankyou and a smile and a salute, kept going to a lovely big plaza lined with palms and orange trees. Finally got to the spot where the taxi dropped us off, and opposite were some handicrafts shops, and I spotted a kangaroo made of damascene metal - the proportions were all wrong but was a joy to see - the owner came over to ask us in to have a look and when we said "kangaroo" he knew we were Australians, and welcomed us in to have a look, no obligations. Lots of beautiful stuff, including tablecloths and napkins and cushion covers made by franciscan nuns, damascene metal objects, leathergoods, ceramics, glassware, as well as teapots and daggers [not sure if they were soley decorative]. Sheryl bought some cushion covers and I was tempted to buy a damascened Lucky Hand of Fatima, which wards off bad luck, but declined. The owner gave a short demonstration as to how he makes a damascened object, stamping silver thread onto blackened iron, which gets blackened 3 times and polished so the silver shines, but it was nothing like the damascened work we saw in Malta, which was exquisite; his stuff was a likeness, attractive, but not worthy of collecting really. Thanked him and bid fond farewells and wished us a happy visit.
   Found our way to the underground jail, that held prisoners who worked on capital works, and a man appeared asking if we wanted a guide to show us round, so Sheryl and he agreed on a price and spent the next 20 minutes in this space. It's been restored and is rather cavernous, and could only imagine the conditions for the inmates at the time. At one end were a number of thick columns and we shown the bits where neck, hands and ankle chains were attached for the "worst prisoners", 4 prisoners per column. Afterwards we found our way to the large plaza, Place de Medina, which had a large ceramics shops and half a dozen cafes to one side, the medina side. At the end of this plaza was a bank, which is our meeting point for our group at 12:30pm. We had an hour so agreed to follow a very well dressed tout for his cafe as the clincher was they sold avocado juice … so we sat down in the sun, watched the world go by, I had a coffee, snapped off some pix every now and then. The avocado juice was yummmmmm, we found out as we left that it was avocado and yoghurt put thru a blender, so it was thick, creamy and delicious, as well as quite filling. We still had 20 minutes so we checked out the nearby alleyways, which had fantastic windows and doors and colours, hearing the call to prayers the shopkeepers started shutting up shop, even though many were still trying to entice us to buy …
   Met up with Miloud in the square, and Simone wasn't far behind, waited on Grant, but he didn't show, so we wandered back into the alleyways to a tiny shop where we were going to try camelburghers, along with mint tea. The kitchen area could barely contain the cook and his little stove, and the seating area had a small table which could probably only fit 4 or 5 people at most, no bigger than 4 x 8 foot total. The burghers were delicious, the patties contained herbs and spices, a yummy light lunch. once done we returned to the square, to the giant portals and were picked up by our van. We stopped along the way and waited 5 mins, and suddenly Grant was in the van with a camel burgher … don't know that happened! back to our hotel for a toilet stop and picked up our luggage - I had a quick chat with the proprietor, who is the brother of the friendly guy at reception. Said our thanks and goodbyes, and loaded onto the van. The outskirts of Meknes were quite attractive, with many nice looking houses which gave way to olive orchards and farmland - Miloud told us the land between here and Fes is very fertile, with olives, almonds, oranges and crops as well as some sheep, didn't see any cattle. We were on our way to the Roman ruins of Volubilis, passing by a famous town whose name I didn't catch, but has something to do with the foundation of the royal lineage and creation of Fes.
At Volubilis we were met by a wonderful guide, Abdul, who took us round the ruins for well over an hour, explaining the many facets of what we were seeing, including entry gates, villas, mosaic floors, underfloor heating, a brothel, vomitorium, toilets, washing trough, temple, cemetery, drains, etc, amazing, dating from 1st century BC to 4th century AD. At its height it was estimated that some 20000 people lived there, and the city was flattened by an earthquake somewhere round the 1600s - not sure on the date. The guide, Abdul-lai, was a thorough gentleman and very enthusiastic with imparting loads of information and background. Once done, thanked him, also a tip, then boarded the bus for our journey onto Fes, which we reached after the sun had sunk. Another city, but we're told it's the most complete medieval city in Africa, so can't wait to see what we will see tomorrow.
   After mint tea we were assigned our rooms, then met in the lobby at 7:30 to be driven to a restaurant called Dar Hatim, which is found in a typical riad - home - the surrounding area was quite grotty and seedy, and reached by walking up dimly lit narrow alleyways to a metal door, and once in it was like another world, whitewashed walls with tiled decoration, lovely colourful plush couch furnishings, and onto a larger room, which looks like a courtyard that is now covered, the walls up to headheight covered with wall hangings, it was a welcoming room. Miloud told us it was a typical house whose lower floor and courtyard has been converted to a restaurant, the husband and wife owners, as well as husband's mum and a couple of assistants do all the cooking. The wife welcomed us warmly and we knew we were in for a treat! The entree was 12 vegetable dishes plus bread that we shared, followed by a main course which is the house specialty, pastilla - a chicken pie, but a chicken pie I've never tasted before: a complex dish of many spices plus chicken, encased in a filo like pie, with sugared cinnamon and a few almonds on top - it was simply divine, like nothing I've ever tasted before, sweet, scrumptuous, filling! A large platter with fresh fruit was delivered along with hot drinks and an accompaniment which tasted like moist crumbled spekulaa biscuits infused with sesame seeds, yum. We were also treated to a quick tour of the private house, the main bedroom had a ceiling of carved cedar, as was the large headboard, wall lights, screens … it was gorgeous - we met the cooks in the kitchen and thanked them warmly for our delicious meal - then up to the closed in terrace, with views to the old city. Wow! What a day!

26 November
Wandered downstairs, to the cafe on the corner, which seemed the only one open, ordered crepes with honey and banana and hot drinks each, yum, great way to start the day, chatted, watched the world go by. At 9 boarded the van and head off to a big square opposite the Royal Palace, where we were met by Mohamed, a local guide who was going to spend most of the day with us and show us around Fes. It ended up being a big day really, lots of walking, but first we admired the main gates of the Palace, a larger central gate with 2 smaller ones either side, decorated with tiles, stucco, bronze doors. Very impressive. Boarding the bus we were taking to one of the defensive towers dating from the 16th century, the Borj Sud - South Tower - from which you got a fantastic panorama of the old city in front, with hills in the background with olive groves.
   From our travel notes: Fes was founded in 808AD by the Moroccan ruler Idrus II. It is divided into 3 parts: 1) Fes el-Bali [Old Fes medina], one of the largest living medieval cities in the world with c35000 people living there, a labyrinth of 9400 narrow lanes packed with bazaars selling pretty much anything you can think of. 2) Fes el-Jdid [New Fes] dates from the 13th century, which is where the Royal Palace is located, and also home of the town's Jewish population from the 14th century until the mid-20th century [originally expelled from Europe]. 3) The Ville Nouvelle built in the 1920s, during the French Protectorate era, an area of boulevards, cafes and restaurants. Fes is the oldest of the imperial cities, and arguably the symbolic heart of Morocco.
   We could see all those 3 parts from the South Tower. We returned to the van and made our way down to the medina, where we visited a ceramics factory, and given a short tour of the factory, where we saw the preparation of clay, the creation of pots on foot-powered wheels, the kilns, and the handpainting of glazes to the creation of coloured tiles, which were then chipped and tapped by hammers into various shapes which were then used to create mosaics for tables, fountains, etc. Their showrooms were amazing with all kinds of pots and platters and bowls and tagines and vases and tiles, etc for sale …and, of course we were enticed to buy, that our large orders could be packed most carefully and shipped to Australia …
   Returned to the van and driven closer to the actual market area, where we followed our tour leader and Mohamed from one alley to another, stopping every now an then for an explanation of what we were seeing, where they came from, etc. In no time flat there was no way we could have figured out where we were and how to get out of there! People everywhere, noises, sights, smells, donkeys, handcarts, touts, sellers, displays, quiet little nooks and crannies, even smaller alleys leading off to god knows where, sometimes nothing but sky overhead, other times lattice or plastic sheets, whatever came to hand … it was almost impossible to find the time to keep walking and look up to notice windows or shutters, little towers, etc. Every now and then we came across rather elaborate doors and portals, entrance to the mosque, where again beautifully decorated with tiles, stucco, carved and painted and gilded cedar, carved marble, etc, with beautiful hanging lamps. But underfoot all manner of paving, littler, detritus, bits of this and that, cats, dried up donkey poo - the donkeys are not shod with metal shoes but with bits of car tyre. We saw clothing and wool and cotton and silk being dyed in the alleys, we visited a leathergoods shops, which had a terrace overlooking the dye vats, all the dyes are natural, ie the blues from indigo, green from pistacchio, yellow from saffron [the most expensive colour], etc. The white vats had pigeon poo in them, which had ammonia in it, and guys were in there, boots and all, quite literally. It was almost overwhelming at times, and it was great we were being led by Mohamed, who has lived there all his life, and who was frequently greeted by many people. He explained to us that a greeting forms a very important part of meeting someone, the handshake, kisses, and spending time asking after family, health, life, work, everything … different forms of greetings for family, friends, parents, etc.
   We had lunch at a small cafe in the medina, where we were warmly greeted by the family, and asked to taste the different mains to see which one we wanted, and once seated were brought bread and dishes of vegetables - like last night - as well as our main, and drinks, with mint tea afterwards. It was delicious, and a respite from the hustle and bustle of the bazaar, great to take a breath and chillax! Once lunch was over, we continued our tour of the bazaar, moving from the woodworking area to a weaving factory, converted from a former caravan stop - ie camel caravan, where we were shown some beautiful woven cloths and scarves, etc, and an older gentleman was weaving a piece, which was fascinating to watch. Then onto carpet making, ushered into a carpet showroom, with 2 ladies producing a carpet on a loom upstairs, and were given a show of various carpets, and enticed to buy, but of course! Had my eye on one piece in particular, and guess what, it was the most expensive one there … funny that! It was nice to be complimented on my refined taste … sure, haha!
   Onwards we went, it was all becoming a bit of a blur, and by c4:30 we finally returned to our van, and realised by remembering our surrounds last night, that it was quite close by where we had dinner last night. We returned to our hotel, with Mohamed giving quite an eloquent farewell, thanking us for our visit to Fes, Morocco, to spend time with him, for our attention, to pass on his warmest wishes to our fellow countrymen, families, loved ones … and to continue to have a wonderful time in travels in Morocco. We thanked him warmly as well, a tip. Another big day.