Fez was the Morocco I’d been waiting for, a Moroccan fantasy come to life. As the long-time capital, Fez (the French spelling, Fes, is what you’ll find in Morocco) is considered one of Morocco’s “imperial cities” and it lived up to, and exceeded, all of my expectations.
From Rabat, it took only a few hours on a modern highway to reach Fez. As we drove inland from the Atlantic coast, I looked out at fertile agricultural land with bright green fields, row after row of olive trees (introduced by the Romans) and grape vines, and mimosa and almond trees in bloom.
The original inhabitants of the area were Amazigh, whose presence goes back over 3000 years. In the early 9th century CE, King Moulay Idriss II carried out the wishes of his late father by building Fez as his new capital. Over the years, what started as a small town grew to be a large and thriving multicultural city and intellectual center. In addition to Moroccans, the city’s population included Arabs from Kairouan (modern-day Tunisia), Andalusians (Muslims and Jews fleeing Spain and Portugal), and mercenaries from various parts of Africa. These new residents brought along their knowledge of the crafts for which Fez became famous.
The oldest remaining part of the city is the medina, which is surrounded by 17 kilometers of walls. Lonely Planet says the medina of Fez is “the world’s largest car-free urban zone.” Today, 70,000 people (out of Fez’s total population of 1.2 million) still live in its medina.
Adjacent to the medina is an area called “New Fez.” Despite its name, this neighborhood dates back to 1276. It’s where the Merinid dynasty established their administrative center and built a royal palace. Together, New Fez and the medina have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I was delighted to be staying in a riad right in the medina. I had never stayed in such a luxurious and exotic setting.
Although Riad Marjan was quite comfortable, we didn’t spend all that much time there because we were usually out exploring the city.
Our local guide, Farideh, escorted us around New Fez, which I found especially interesting because this is where the mellah (Jewish quarter) was located. In fact, it was adjacent to the royal palace. The mellah was established in 1438, during the period of Merenid rule. Until the creation of the mellah, Jews lived among their Muslim neighbors in the old city (medina). Historians are still not sure why the Jewish inhabitants of the city were required to move to the mellah.
At one time, Fez was home to Morocco’s largest Jewish community. As we walked through the mellah, Fatima pointed out the balconies facing the street. This architectural feature identifies the house as belonging to a Jewish family because Jewish women, unlike Muslim women, weren’t required to hide themselves from view. Jews could also construct booths open to the sky on the balconies to celebrate the autumn harvest festival of Sukkot.
At one time, Fez had the largest Jewish population of any city in Morocco. Today, there are few Jews left in in the city. The 17th century Ibn Danan Synagogue, located in the mellah, is a popular tourist site. We visited the sanctuary and saw the mikve (ritual bath).
We passed by a variety of shops, including several that looked like Party City, Moroccan style. The specialized in items that families buy or rent for celebrations such as weddings. The large containers would be filled with sweets for the guests.
And there were the stores that sold more mundane goods, such as pasta, grains, and a dark brown olive oil soap to use in the hamman (baths).
A highlight of New Fez was the Medrassa Attarine, a 14th century school for Islamic studies. It is known for its exquisite decorative architecture. You’ll notice the characteristic geometric, calligraphic, and floral designs in its stucco and wood carvings, metal work, and zellig (decorative tiles).
Nearby the medrassa was a site we couldn’t enter. The Kairaouine University and Mosque dates back to 859CE. It began as a school for studying the Quran. It is recognized by UNESCO as the oldest continually operating university in the world, and it served as a leading educational center for centuries. Back in the 1100s, the important Jewish philosopher Maimonides studied here. Today, Kairaouine University accommodates 20,000 students. But since it also houses a mosque, only Muslims are allowed to enter. The photo below shows the entrance to the complex.
Another site we couldn’t enter in New Fez was the walled Royal Palace complex. The foundations of the palace date back to the 13th century. Over the centuries, the palace was expanded and modified. A new entrance, with beautiful gates, was built in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The palace is still used by the royal family, although not as its primary residence. However, we gazed in awe at its ornate 20th century entrance gates.
The medina was just as fascinating as New Fez. As we walked past the wooden doors of residences, Farideh pointed out an old wooden door that had two door knockers. Looking closely, I realized that there was a smaller door within a larger door. I heard a couple of explanations for this: First, the shorter door, which requires you to duck your head, reflects the Islamic value of humility. Bowing your head as you enter the house is a way of showing respect to the owner. Second, since each door knocker has a different sound, men would use one knocker, and women would use the other. If a man was home alone, he wouldn’t open the door if he heard a woman knock. If a woman was home alone, she would not open the door for a man.
The souks in the medina were crowded and colorful and full of tempting items.
I had to keep in mind Abdou’s instructions to ignore people trying to sell us things and to avoid making eye contact with vendors. He also reminded us not to take photos of people without asking permission first (and giving a small coin as a token of thanks).
I remembered this rule when I saw woman rolling out paper thin sheets of dough. When I asked to take her photo and offered her 5 Dirhams (the equivalent of 50 cents), she smiled broadly and was clearly very pleased to demonstrate her expertise.
We walked through a textile section of the souk where colorful skeins of yarn were hanging overhead. I would never have guessed that the yarn was made of agave fibers. We made our way to the rooftop area where the yarn was soaking in vats of natural dyes.
The café where we stopped for tea and coffee (and restrooms) had an upper story terrace overlooking a small plaza filled with metalworkers busy at their craft.
Fez is known as the center for leatherwork. To learn about the entire production chain involved in making high quality leather items, we visited the oldest tannery (over 700 years old) in the city, which was located in the medina. The skins of goats, sheep, and cows are first soaked in a mixture of water and pigeon droppings. After this treatment, they are colored with natural dyes. We were told that the most expensive color for leather is a deep golden yellow, which comes from saffron. We climbed up to the roof (smelly from the pigeon coops located there) to get a first-hand look at the vats used for dying the skins. During the colder winter months, skins are dyed the darker colors while lighter, brighter colors are produced during the warmer summer months.
Gorgeous items in the showroom included slippers, bags, wallets, belts, jackets, and pouffes (ottomans). I didn’t think I’d be able to bring home a pouffe but when I saw that an un-pouffed, i.e. unstuffed, pouffe could be flattened and rolled into a neat and compact package, I didn’t hesitate to purchase one! The one I bought resembles the pouffe in the photo below.
I hope you can see why I could have spent hours – no, make that days – wandering through the medina.
Fez is also known for its tradition of producing ceramics, including the tiles used in creating mosaics. The ceramic center (part of a coop) we visited was away from the center of the city. It can’t be in the medina because of the intense heat of the kilns. We learned about the preparation of clay and watched workers, mostly men, molding flat pieces and working on a foot-powered wheel. Women were doing some of the painting while men were chipping away pieces of tiles to be used for mosaic tesserae.
In the showroom, I browsed among a wide range of ceramic items, including platters, cups, and intricately patterned mosaic-topped tables of all sizes. Unfortunately, even the smallest mosaic table tops were out of my price range, and there wasn’t enough room in my luggage for a large platter or bowl, but I found a ceramic mezuzah trimmed in silver that was small and relatively affordable.
One special feature of every OAT adventure is a home-hosted lunch or dinner. We break into small groups (4-5 people) and join a local family at their home for conversation and a meal. It’s always a wonderful and memorable experience.
Along with four fellow travelers, I spent the evening with Amina and her family. Their spacious home was right around the corner from our riad, behind a nondescript façade. The family exemplified the hospitality that is such an important part of Moroccan culture. Amina, a single woman in her late 20s who spoke excellent English, began by serving us tea and cookies. She showed us the traditional needlework done by her mother and brought out men’s and women’s Moroccan clothing for us to try on.
Then we all enjoyed a dinner of harira soup accompanied by dates and sticky sweet fried pastry bites; olives; eggplant salad; tagine of lamb and prunes; and finally, slices of orange, strawberries, and banana dusted with cinnamon.
And speaking of food, I must say that we ate extremely well in Fez.
On the day of our arrival, the “light” lunch at our riad consisted of salad, mini kofta (meatballs in sauce), and sliced oranges with cinnamon.
For lunch the following day, our riad served a traditional chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemon.
On Abdou’s recommendation, before we left Fez, I took a look at a nearby riad, Riad Salam Fes. Over the years, the owner had bought up several adjoining properties and created a sumptuous and breathtakingly beautiful interior. When I saw it, I could hardly believe my eyes. It resembled my idea of paradise. And if I ever come back to Fez, this is where I’d want to stay.
No comments:
Post a Comment