Morocco- Fes

After having success with central city parking in Marrakech, we decided to do the same for Fes.  Dale is a very competent driver and without his skills I don't think we would contemplate driving in all the cities we have.  One problem with the drive into Fes is the presence of motorcycle touts on the way in.  They approach foreign vehicles trying to lead them to campsites or hotels and expect a tip.  Not only is this dangerous but largely unwanted by tourists.

We were spotted by one and after hearing we weren't going to the campsite he said 'I have a hotel in the medina'- what a surprise.  We said no and tried to ignore him for the next 5kms.  Whilst we were waiting at the lights, beggars approaching us from one side, the tout the other, Dale starting tooting his horn and telling this guy no.  He must have got the message as he swore obscenities at us and left us to it.  What a jerk- he tries to force his unwanted "help" on us in a dangerous manner to be told no and he has the audascity to swear at us.

City car parking in Fes

We arrived into the carpark which was extremely busy on a Sunday afternoon and paid for 2 nights at 50 dirhams a night.  We were happy to see a couple of campers including a German motorhome whom Dale spoke to.  With an hour of sunlight left we thought it appropriate to do some exploring.  After going through the Kasbah gate and getting lost in the maze of alleyways we turned around and retraced out steps and then found the entry into the souks.  There is a much more authentic feel about the souks here.  You can see the locals shopping, not just tourists.  Whilst in Fes we actually didn't get much hassle, twice mistaking people for touts who actually only wanted to point us in the right direction (one guy even telling us he wasn't a guide).  We found a couple of bargins in the souks (it is always much more fun when you are buying).  We got some books and I found some more scarfs- similar quality to Marrakech but two thirds the price at a fixed price shop.

The souk

The kasbah gate

The following day was forecast to rain all day.  We had seen the forecast in advance so weren't too worried and our location enabled us to pop out to a museum and medersa, though we still got caught out in one shower.  Navigating in the Fes medina is extremely challenging.  The two biggest roads on the map are mere alleyways and you are lucky to see street signs.

The Bab Boujeloud gate

We visited the Dar Batha museum, which I was impressed by.  They had some lovely artifacts and also a woodwork shop inside with two craftsmen making high quality products.  It was the best woodworking we had seen thus far.  On display in the museum were also musical instruments, Fes pottery and old Korans.

The museum courtyard

Fes Pottery

There are two medersas (religious schools) in Fes.  We chose to view the Bou Inania Medersa which when we originally arrived was closed for prayers.  For us the one in Marrakech was better because you were able to go upstairs, and in Fes the courtyard was only available for viewing.  However this medersa is still in use (you an see people praying) and open to non muslims so that is pretty cool.  We were approached by a man from the tourist information inside with the offer of a tour.  There was no pressure from him whatsoever to take up his offer.  I had read that recently the Police have arrested some illegal guides and this would seem to be the case from our experience.

We were happy with our choice to return to the van to watch some winter olympics when the hail and rain came down in the afternoon.  It was then that we saw 3 Spanish registered motorhomes pull into the carpark with you name it, the same motorcycle tout that we had "met" yesterday.  There was arguments for a good 10 minutes, we don't specifically know what about, but confirmed our decision not to use his help.

We decided two nights was enough for us at the carpark so on our final day it came out sunny and we walked up to a lookout point.  There is an arms museum on the hillside and we walked the grounds then followed the road along to the remains of some Merenid tombs.  The view here was fantastic and we also saw workers from the tanneries drying skins on the hill side.

Fes medina

The Arms museum

Animal skins from the tanneries drying on the hill side at the Merenid tomb ruins

The Grand Mosque in the medina

The Merenid tomb ruins

We also headed to a garden near where we were parked and then through the Mellah (Jewish district) to the Royal Palace.  As expected we had a few offers to visit the synagoge!  We were content to leave Fes and happy with our visit.  Overall we would probably saw it as average, it is a pretty crazy, busy place.  But it also had some really good features in the souks, the Grand Mosque (can fit 20,000 people and was the biggest in Morocco before the one in Casablanca was built) and the lookout points over the city.

The gardens

The Royal Palace