Fes - Part 1

We got into our hotel in Fez in the evening. The hotel had such an arab vibe with tiled walls and columns and intricate details. We had supper and then called it a night - tired from traveling.

This is the lounge in the lobby of our hotel.

The next day we had our tour, and our guide told us some really interesting history. Morocco was the first country to recognize the US as an independent nation. Also, in 1492 when Fernando and Isabel expelled all the Jews from Spain, the Moroccan king welcomed them with open arms. He gave them an area near the palace to make their shops and homes. In this area the architecture is Spanish - it was built by the Jews from Spain. When the Holocaust came around, Hitler asked Morocco for its large population of Jews. The king gave all the Jews Moroccan citizenship and told Hitler there were no Jews in Morocco. The people were safe because of him. Neat story, huh?

This is the king's palace.

From the palace, we went to the Medina. It is a huge labyrinth of tiny winding streets with every shop you can imagine - fresh fruits and vegetables, meat (camel included), fish, clothes, spices, thread, medicine, everything you can imagine. It was built in the 700's and is the world's largest car-free urban center. This place is huge. I wish I would have had more time to take pictures, but I was a little worried about losing my tour guide and being lost in the Medina. We discovered quickly that when a man yells "Bahlik!" it means get pressed up against the wall because a donkey carrying a load of goods is coming through. There is not room in the street for both of you. This happened often.

One of the many fruit shops.

Camel, anyone? What a way to advertise!

This is a university in the Medina. It is the oldest functioning university in the world. It was founded in 859.

The first shop we got to enter in the Medina was a pharmacy. It reminded me of something out of Harry Potter. Tons of bottles and jars filled with liquids and powders of every color lined the walls - spices, medicines, oils, teas, etc. We were able to learn about Moroccan medicine from a five-generation pharmacist and his son. (Side note: People here have many children as an insurance. When children are older, they take care of their parents - more children, more money, more care. And children often learn their parents trade, thus a five-generation pharmacist. We learned about argon oil - a cure-all oil, massage oils, lotions, a spice cure-all that we all got to sniff (wowzers it cleaned out your system), arab make-up, spanish flies (a natural viagra of sorts), etc. And all of it was organic. Then we were able to buy. These people have to make a killing when we come through.

Our next stop was a tanery. We were able to see how they made the leather, and then shop at a store with the finished products. I had never seen anything like it. Circular pools of different colored water with men working away. It was fascinating to watch them. The store had everything leather you could imagine - little camels, purses, luggage, shoes, jackets, belts, bracelets, etc. It was fun to look around and even more fun to buy, but I held myself back quite a bit.

These men are dying the diffferent types of leather.

This place was huge. The white is limestone and is used to soften the leather and separate the fur. The colors are dyes. I could have watched this all day.