Morocco 2/16/2024 - 3/2/2024 |
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Tuesday 2/20/2024 - Fes: Royal Palace, Jewish Quarter, MedinaWe got up this morning after a rough night. Overnight we had even been wondering if we would be able to leave the room today. We decided to skip breakfast as we weren't sure if our stomachs could handle it. We texted Jamal to let him know that we had both gotten sick overnight. We told him that we planned to do as much as we could today, but we would have to play it by ear. (This is one of the reasons that we like to do private tours, so that if something like this happens, we can alter our plans without adversely impacting fellow travelers). We asked Jamal if they sell Gatorade or something similar in Morocco, as we didn't want to get dehydrated after vomiting so much. If so, we asked if he could please pick some up for us.After resting until the very last minute, we went downstairs to meet Jamal at the appointed 9:30 time. He showed me that the text I had sent had been all garbled, so he hadn't been aware that we had been sick overnight. After that we used WhatsApp instead of regular SMS, and our communication was more reliable. The riad staff stopped us and mentioned that we had missed breakfast. They kindly asked if we wanted anything small before going out for the day, even a cup of coffee. We said no thank you, as we thought it best to be very gentle on our stomachs. (We wouldn't realize until the next day that the riad does not have a buffet breakfast; everything is prepared and brought to your table. As there are only a few rooms at the riad, not showing up to breakfast wasn't just two less people eating from a buffet...it was two entire breakfasts not consumed). We walked to the van and Majid drove us to a shop which sold drinks. Jamal found several options and brought them to the van for us to inspect. One was a blue electrolyte drink called UpGrade, which the shopkeeper told Jamal is newly available in Morocco. We told Jamal that this was perfect, and he bought us several bottles, all that the man had in stock. Jamal said that he would be on the lookout for more at other shops during the course of the day. We cracked open the bottles and drank up; our bodies were really craving electrolytes. We were very thankful. Jamal and Majid took such good care of us! We started our day today in Fes El Jdid (New Fes), which is only "new" in the relative sense, since it dates to the 13th century. Majid dropped us off at the Royal Palace. Originally built in the 13th century under the Marinid Sultanate, it fell into disrepair and was restored by the Alawi (Alaouite) Dynasty in the 17th century. Most of the structures on the property today date to the 17th century and later. In the 1960's, King Hassan II ordered a new square to be built, Place des Alaouites ("Alawi Square"). This is where we stood to admire the beautiful architecture, including the ornate gates to the palace which were built between 1969 and 1971. The capital of Morocco was moved from Fes to Rabat in 1912. However, this palace in Fes is still used regularly by the king, and thus is not open to the public. Jamal pointed out that on the street right in front of the palace is where one of the Fes scenes from "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" was filmed. Next we explored the Mellah, or Jewish quarter of Fes, also located in Fes el Jdid. In the 1940's, there were 15,000 Jews living in the Mellah, but as of 1997, there were only 150 Jews living in the whole of Fes. Most had emigrated, many to the newly created Israel. We started in the cemetery, which was moved to its current location in 1884. Its previous location had been taken over to expand the Royal Palace. The graves were all bright white. We saw a blue tiled monument to Solika Hatchouel the Righteous, who was decapitated for apostasy in Fes in 1834. She refused to renounce her Jewish heritage and convert to Islam to marry a sultan. The sultan was so enraged by this that he lied and said that she had converted to Islam and then back to Judaism, an act punishable by death. She is viewed as a martyr, and was just 17 years old when she died. We then visited the 17th century Ibn Danan synagogue. The floor was made of green and white tiles in a herringbone pattern, and some of the woodwork was painted teal. The Torah ark cupboard is made of stained wood surrounded by intricately carved and painted plaster. Various lamps hung from the ceiling. A narrow staircase led down to a ritual bathing area, or mikveh. A larger staircase led up to a gallery overlooking the synagogue where women and children would worship. Heading even further up the large staircase, Jamal and I went up to the roofdeck which provided a picturesque view of the cemetery. After having been up sick all night, Craig was feeling a bit weak, and opted not to climb up several flights of stairs. Jews and Muslims have traditionally peacefully coexisted in Morocco, with many Muslims preferring to go to Jewish doctors and the king retaining Jewish advisors. The Jewish quarter is a labyrinth of narrow cobblestone streets, which we enjoyed exploring with Jamal. Even Jamal got a little confused as we wandered, and needed to ask someone for directions to get us back to the main street. Jamal and Majid worked like well oiled machines. Jamal would discreetly call Majid and let him know where/when to pick us up. When we arrived at the appointed location, Majid was already there with the van. Majid drove us up to Borj de Sud, one of two hilltop forts overlooking the old city, to get panoramic views of Fes. The fort dates back to 1582 during the Saadian Dynasty. The Saadian capital was Marrakech, but they had faced some resistance to their rule in Fes, so they built forts overlooking the old city of Fes to try to protect from threats from within as well as without. There were indeed gorgeous views of the city from here. We could really see how tightly packed buildings in the Medina are. There was a raised platform from which we could get good photographs. There was one tourist here wearing a very short, sleeveless dress. The wind coming up the hillside caused her dress to blow around. Craig and I remarked to Jamal that it seemed rather inconsiderate in a Muslim-majority country to wear something so immodest in public. We always try to dress in such a way that we don't offend the locals. Next, we drove to Touhafs Fes for a tour of a zellige (mosaic) and ceramics factory. We got to see artisans at work creating mosaics, shaping pots on a pottery wheel, and painting pottery. Their work was beautiful, especially the zellige fountains and tabletops. There were many other wares for sale, such as tajines, bowls, and sink basins. We enjoyed browsing but ultimately didn't purchase anything, as it was all too heavy and/or fragile for us to carry home without effort. Of course, they were quick to point out that they ship internationally, fully insured, via DHL. But our house is so jam-packed with things that we couldn't justify it. If we were in the process of building a house, we would probably have considered a custom sink or some tiles. Jamal asked us if we would like to stop for lunch somewhere, but our stomachs still weren't feeling great. We thought that it would be better if we didn't eat something big before continuing our tour. Jamal was concerned that we hadn't eaten dinner last night or breakfast this morning, and had no fuel in our systems. We said that maybe a piece of bread would be enough to settle our stomachs. Jamal was immediately on the case, and ran off. He returned to the van several minutes later with two round, fresh, soft pieces of khobz. This was perfect! That Jamal, always taking such good care of us! Next, Majid dropped us off at the Medina of Fes el Bali (old Fes). Fes el Bali dates back to around 800 A.D. This Medina contains over 10,000 labyrinthine laneways and is home to over 100,000 people. Motorized traffic is prohibited, but donkey carts transport goods within this walled city. There are all sorts of things for sale, including ceramics, woodwork, metalwork, jewelry, food, souvenirs, clothing, leather good, electronics, appliances, carpets, toys, etc. There are specific areas for each type of craft, so that people know where to go to get whatever it is that they are looking for. There was a flea market where local women sell items that they no longer want. The Medina is a place where we easily could have gotten lost without the assistance of our trusty guide Jamal. As we wandered the souks (markets), we stopped into various shops to see artisans at work. Although we weren't really in the market to buy much, Jamal said that was fine, that the artisans don't mind demonstrating even if you ultimately don't buy. We were certainly interested in learning about their techniques. At a weaving shop, we observed a man working at a men's weaving loom with shuttle and two foot pedals. (Women don't use looms like this; they hand-knot rugs). We saw that they use various materials, including wool and agave silk. They had many beautiful scarves, bedspreads, fabric, and pillow covers for sale. In the Medina, we visited the Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts & Crafts. It is housed in a gorgeous early 18th-century funduq / caravanserai (inn used by caravans of traveling merchants). The building has a large rectangular courtyard. On the bottom floor, the merchants would store and sell their goods, and they would stay in rooms on the upper two floors. The architecture of the building is beautiful, with intricately carved woodwork and plaster. We visited the rooms around the courtyard on all three floors, where there were exhibits of woodwork from across Morocco, including tools, furniture, musical instruments, prayer beads, doors, religious objects, and farm implements. Photos were not allowed, but I found a photo of the building on Wikimedia Commons:  Interior of Funduq al-Najjariyyin (Fondouk Nejjarine), looking west By Robert Prazeres - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 Outside the museum, we noticed a shop selling postcards. A fourth grade class in Tasiilaq, East Greenland (a place we had visited in 2020) had asked for people to send postcards to the students to kickstart their geography lessons. I bought a postcard to send them, as well as a Morocco magnet for our fridge. Next we entered a workshop/showroom for hand-engraved bronze work. The proprietor Saied showed us around. His father did the bronze work on the doors of the Royal Palace which we visited this morning! The family has been in the metalwork trade for three generations. We watched an artisan use a chisel to free-hand an intricate geometric design onto a bronze plate. Saied took me upstairs and showed me more engraved wares, including silver teapots, some with legs for use over gas burners and some without legs for use on electric burners. Craig didn't go upstairs; Saiyed had given him a stool to sit on, and his legs were too tired to go upstairs. As it was, he would have to walk back to the hotel, so he wanted to save up his energy. Jamal was concerned over his condition. It was around 3:30 p.m., and there were still many things left on the itinerary for this afternoon, but Craig was hardly in any shape to continue. Craig and Jamal started to discuss options. Tomorrow, our schedule was light. We had a hammam treatment in the morning, and the rest of the day we were free to relax and bask in the afterglow of the hammam. This timing was fortuitous; we didn't have much down time on the trip. Jamal suggested that we call it a day and get some rest. He could reschedule the rest of the activities for tomorrow afternoon instead. This sounded good to us. We know that with Craig's multiple sclerosis, trying to push it when he is tired is not a good idea and can just lead to more problems. We really appreciated Jamal's flexibility. He wanted to make sure that we had the best possible experience given the circumstances, even though it meant that he would have to work the next afternoon instead of having time to rest. For dinner tonight, we were supposed to have a local guide for a street food tour in the Medina. Jamal called him to see if we could reschedule that for tomorrow night instead. The local guide said that if our stomachs were delicate today, we would probably want to skip it altogether. That made sense to us. Street food can be a bit risky in the best of situations, and we weren't really feeling like trying anything adventurous in our current state. That being the case, Jamal asked what we would like to do for dinner tonight. If we wanted to eat at our riad, we had to make a reservation before 4 o'clock. It was now 3:45. We decided that eating at the riad was probably the best idea...we could relax in the room for a while and then just go downstairs for dinner. We wouldn't have to walk to some other restaurant with Craig's legs being so weak. Jamal called the riad for us and made us a reservation for 6 pm. They wanted to talk to me about which of the entrees we would like to order. We chose the steak, as we were craving comfort food. On the walk back to the riad, we passed the Mausoleum of Moulay Idriss II. Moulay Idriss II is considered the founder of Fes, and ruled Morocco from 807 to 828 A.D. He moved the capital from Volubilis to Fes in 809. Non-Muslims are not allowed to enter the mausoleum, but Jamal went in with my phone and got some photos so that we could see what it looked like. It has gorgeous zellige tile work and carved plaster work, as well as stained glass windows and fancy chandeliers. It opens onto a courtyard with an 18th century minaret. We walked back to the riad and said goodbye to Jamal, and thanked him for taking such good care of us today. We went to the room and got some rest. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. The bellman brought us 4 electrolyte drinks. Jamal had managed to find another store that sold them, and had bought 6 of them, 4 for now and 2 to have in the cooler in the car. What a sweetheart! We went to the hotel restaurant at 6 p.m. for our reservation. We had the entire place to ourselves. They lit a gas heater to take the chill out of the air. The meal started with tepanade and khobz (bread). The appetizer was spanikopita rolls. Craig had a Casablanca beer and I had a Coke. The main course was a delicious steak with veggies and mashed potatoes and gravy, with tiramisu for dessert. Our stomachs were starting to feel better and it felt good to eat this comfort food. For music, the restaurant was playing a Sting jazz playlist.A few of the songs were familiar to me, but some weren't. When I was younger, I was a huge Sting fan, and his music still holds a special place in my heart. I could tell that Craig was starting to feel better, as he was teasing me about Sting: "How can you make Sting music even sleepier?" But he admitted that it was good for the soundtrack of a romantic dinner. After dinner, I researched the music and found it to be a compilation called "A Touch of Jazz." I really enjoyed it and made a mental note to find it when we get home. The food settled in our stomachs without issue. We went to bed early, hoping that tomorrow we would be back to our normal selves. Royal Palace, Fes Borj Sud Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts |
 Royal Palace, Fes El Jdid  Jewish Cemetery, Fes El Jdid  Ibn Danan Synagogue, Fes El Jdid  Jamal in the Jewish Quarter, Fes El Jdid  Jewish Quarter, Fes El Jdid  Panoramic View of Fes from Borj de Sud  Painting ceramics at Touhafs Fes  Fes El Bali Medina  Fes El Bali Medina  Bronze craftsman Fes El Bali  Mausoleum of Moulay Idriss II, Fes El Bali  Private dinner at Karawan Riad See all photos from February 20 |
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