Fes – September 18th 2017
While in Fes we wanted to tour the Medina. This however was not something we thought we could do on our own. The Medina is huge and the oldest part of Fes. The Medina which includes homes, businesses, shops and restaurants has been around since between 700 – 800 AD!
Our guide was recommended and set up by our lovely host in the Riad. We were excited to hear that the guides are booked and work through the government. We wanted to make sure we were in good hands! We had a driver and our guide and were ready for a whole day to explore!
We made many stops and toured much of the city. Our guide was super great (at first, keep reading). We first went to the Royal Palace. This was right across from the Jewish district. We were told that there are no more Jewish people living in that part of Fes though but the district name remains. Back to the palace, I diverted slightly lol. So it’s grand and the gold doors are the focal point. Beautiful tiles. This is all from the outside. No one is allowed in but our guide did tell us that inside is very ornate and grand also, I mean, when you are the King it has to be, right?!
Next stop was the pottery shop. This shop is owned by the government and although they try to sell you merchandise it’s not nearly as pushy as the vendors in the souks. We had a short tour there and were shown how the ceramics come to life. Fist step with the soaking of the clay, until the last step of firing the piece and getting it ready to sell and everything in between.
Next we entered into the Medina with our guide. He took us down very small walkways and we twisted and turned all through. We came to the leather tannery. Fresh mint leaves were given to us before we entered as we found out inside that the smell was strong! In the tannery, animal hides are prepared. First they are softened and then dyed with natural colors before being laid to dry in the hot sun. The bags, shoes, wallets, purses and everything else were beautiful but we didn’t want to buy anything. Today was a day to experience things, not buy things. This was the turning point for our guide. You see, in most cases guides make commission if you buy things. So with us, there was no bonus for him and he very noticeably turned from friendly (although he was already quite arrogant but we didn’t care 🙂 )to not caring about the day and seeming disappointed and almost ready to be done with us).
Caring on from the tannery we were taken to a carpet shop. He said this was to have a break and have some tea. We were brought in and first taken up stairs where we saw some women weaving the wool carpets. Avery even had a chance to sit and try it out. Downstairs we were treated to some delicious mint tea and the owner of the store had his men start rolling out large and oh so beautiful carpets for us. We knew we were not going to buy anything but I was still drooling wishing I could stuff that 8 by 10 foot Moroccan wool carpet in my carry on lol.
After some great hospitality and at the carpet store and leaving empty handed (although the $2500 US carpet was soooo calling my name) we were getting tired and thinking of calling it a day. Our guide wanted to know if we wished to eat in the Medina for a late lunch but we had food at the Riad and thought best to get back to have the kids relax after a long hot day. We did however buy some fresh bread from a vendor and some postcards while there. Our guide wasn’t happy about us not eating and told the taxi driver this. More commission that he wouldn’t be getting.
On the drive home, our guide was quiet and distant and visibly wanted to be done with us. It’s too bad but we still had a great time exploring the Medina and Fes!
PS: our tour guide dropped Ushers name as a previous person he got to tour around. Either he was lying or Usher made him a whole bunch extra commission!
More Photos..
