All right, I don't really have pictures of our arrival, but I wanted to at least tell you a little about it...
We decided to go for the cheapest tickets we could find when we booked for this trip, and we got a really, really good deal... 450 Euros for all 3 of us. But that also meant that both flights were red-eyes. Didn't sound too terrible when we were planning. And from a timing perspective it wasn't. Luna slept on the plane, and the flight is only 3 and a half or 4 hours, so it's not an ALL night flight... what we didn't really consider was that we would be arriving in a fairly un-developed country, in the wee hours of the night (after driving 4 hours to get to the airport in Germany,) getting into a rental car, and then trying to find our hotel in a city (Casablanca) where...
1. Arabic is the primary language, and French is the secondary (Bas speaks French, but not a ton.)
2. There are no street signs to read anyway.
3. There are very few street lights to illuminate the street signs which do not exist in a foreign language and/or alphabet.
Fortunately, we did manage to find Casablanca. :)
But after driving around for a while, we realized that we were never going to find the streets we were looking for, and even if we did, we wouldn't know them if we saw them. We needed some sleep before we could manage anything on that level... daylight wouldn't hurt either...
So we saw a cab, stopped to ask for directions, and somehow I managed to convey to them that if they would lead us, we would follow, and pay them for their trouble. I have never been so happy to see a hotel! It wasn't much to speak of, we were really just getting a couple hours shuteye. But it was an Ibis, so we knew that it would do!
AFter that fun adventure and a couple hours sleep, we had some breakfast, picked up some food and water, and headed off into the great unknown! (We did order 3 maps from Amazon before we left!!!)
This is a shot of the streets of Casablanca...
And some of their livestock... :)
I think that teetering stacks of mattresses, piled into flat bed trucks are a requirement of undeveloped countries... or at least, this certainly isn't the first time I've seen this sight...
First glimpses of the landscape...
After a few hours n the car we got to Fes, and the directions worked all the way into the medina (medieval walled city with very few non-pedestrian streets) but stopping and having a cabbie lead us the rest of the way worked perfectly. After parking the car, the guys who carried our cases led us down this little walled alley...
To say.. here is your Riad (house which takes in guests - this one probably had 6 rooms?). I started thinking... oh no, what did I get us into? This decrepit little doorway at the corner of this tiny little alley?
A short walk through a dark, long and winding hallway...
And then we emerged out into the courtyard... amazing metamorphic journey...
With a little cooling pool, perfect for Luna...
The windows along the bottom of this picture are our room...
There's my husband...
There's me :) (I got a couple of long skirts before we came... fortunately they're back in style ( thank you Jill Sander) because they were wonderful. Nice and cool, but still kept me conservatively covered. Not required of women in Morocco, but wise, if you still wanted to be viewed with respect.)
Some of the details... so many to see...
The white arch is intricately carved stone... amazing.
The ceiling... (this is why I have always wanted to come to Morocco! I was already on aesthetic overload!)
Looking down from the room on Bas and the courtyard...
The common lounge off the courtyard...
Since we arrived fairly early, we took the opportunity to drive around the outskirts of town and get a feel for the city before heading into the medina the next morning...
Graves and tombs on the way up to the "north fortress." Borj Nord
View out over Fes, and the medina...
The buildings with the green roofs in the center are the mosque and Madrasa around the main center of Fes...
Moroccon flags flying outside the Royal Palace... (the prince has one in each city he visits frequently...)
Copper doors to the royal palace, interesting because these were added in the 60's...
This is shot from the south fortress... includes the north fortress up on the opposite hill...
Here is the fortress...
Then we headed out to where the local pottery is made... apparently it used to be done in the medina, but it was too stinky and messy, so it was moved out.
This is one of the workshops...
I love these pictures... more aesthetic reasons for my desire to be there...
In case you don't know much about Muslim architecture and design, it is generally very distinctive because of it's complete lack of representative figures. It is predominantly geometric in nature, because any representation even of the flora and fauna of nature are considered a sign of worship or idolatry. But what it lacks in representation, it makes up for in color, composition, symmetry and pattern! I love it!
Pile of clay, and mis-thrown bowls...
the artist at work...
Love the colors in this picture...
This little "piscine" is where they stomp around when they need some clay... no kidding.
Fes is known for its cobalt pottery, which isn't cobalt before it is fired...
When we got back, I snapped some pictures of our room before it got roughed up.
Th eplatfor for the bed and the nightstands are made out of masonry, and covered with tile... intricately carved or painted wood everywhere.
Bath is also made of masonry... talk about a family bath, this was huge!
Copper basins are quite common.
Our first dinner out...
The restaurant... (starting to get the idea?)
A quick swim in the afternoon...
The next day we had a guide arranged to meet us at our Riad in the morning. Trying to see anything inside the medina without a guide is next to impossible. There are over 9000 streets in teh medina, most of them tiny, winding and most are not included on any map you could ever find - if you found one that even tried...
The medina in Fes is very hilly, making motorized transport nearly impossible due to the steps everywhere. But you see a lot of donkies...
hides stacked up in a workshop, probably on their way to the tannery.
This is a shot of "the Inn." This is where travelling caravans would bring their camels and donkies, which would be stabled on the main floor. The traders would stay on the upper level, and the trading and weighing would occur in the courtyard. Hasn't changed much since the earliest days in Fes (900 AD?)
Notice all the carved wooden porches over the doors...
Selling mint for the ubiquitous mint tea... yum, yum.
Produce department...
Kitty waiting for scraps at the butcher...
In this workshop they made highly decorated wedding carriages like this, as well as the simple and unadorned coffin just in front of it. Different life events have different requirements...
Fountain outside the arts and crafts museum.
Fes is known for its artisans and craft making. They are considered a proud tradition of the city, and are nurtured and cultivated in partnership with the local universities. When students can not afford their education alone, they are granted "work-study" situations, where they also apprentice to a workshop, helping to keep the crafts alive and thriving in Fes.
Cats are everywhere... Mohammed treated them favorably, so they are left to "be fruitful and multiply..." :)
When women were menstruating, they were not allowed to enter the mosque. This coin slot in the wall allowed them to say a prayer, and make a donation at the same time.
Moroccan wedding dresses...
Fellow trying to get Luna to insist on this hat... and yes, they really do wear them.
Bas talking to our guide outside the Madrasa...
These wooden screen coverings are quite common... cuts the hot sun enough to keep it cool, but still allows in light.
These cylindrical wooden window coverings are designed to protect a woman's modesty, but still allow her to see who is at the door, without covering her face.
This is Seffarine Square, where all the coppers and metal-smithing is done... lots of busy clanging here.
The actual blacksmith... this workshop is in one of the medina "stalls" along the alley
here is another... the knife sharpener. Each little one man workshop can be shut up easily at night, with just enough room for one worker!
River bisecting the city...
This is the dyer's souk (market) where fabrics, yarn, and faded clothing can be brought to be dyed. Most of the dyers were using black when we passed through...
This was near the river which feeds this communal pool used for rinsing. (Much of the city waterworks date back to the 11th century.)
My husband and our guide discussing football. Our guide was Brad Pitt's guide when he visited... ooh-la-la.
This is the tannery, where all the leather hides in the city come to be tanned. There are a system of earthen pots which hold different chemicals and dye-stuffs used in the process. First they are soaked in the "white" pots at the bottom of the picture which are lime enzyme baths. You don't want to fall in... then moved up to the higher pots where the dyes are used...
The tanneries are generally on the outskirts of town because it is so stinky and dirty. Indeed they gave us each a sprig of mint to breath through as the stench of the chemicals was so strong. I say "chemicals" but keep in mind these are all natural chemicals found in nature and used for centuries.
I gues sthe people that live around here just get used to the smell...
And in a weaving workshop...
The smallest alley in Fes...
Chillin' out at dinner...
Luna liked eating on couches...
I love, love, love this picture... was so glad it turned out, I snapped it so quick!
This was a "water clock" which used running water to tell the time. But it was broken during cleaning, and no one can figure out how to get it running again. I think it was from the 14th or 15th century, and was built by a Jew who was attending university here.
The "Blue Gate"
Old city walls...
Gas station, Fes style...
Inside the oldest Madrasa in town (Muslim University) which has been beautifully restored.
The mosque area inside...
While representation is not allowed, you do see verses from the Koran everywhere, and beautifully applied.
Music department...
A yummy tagine for dinner...
And the streets at night... I somehow imagined that everything would close up at night. But it really doesn't. Everybody was out, store were open. Even workshops were open quite late, although I think these guys were just trying to escape their wives... :)
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