TRAVELLING IN TIME WITH THE STORKS

It was an early start this morning, as we had a lot to pack into our last day.  We sat upstairs on the terrace for breakfast, gazing out over the ancient tombs, when all of a sudden a small flock of storks flew over head.  We hadn't seen any evidence of them during our three days in Fez, but there they were as we were about to leave!

Not long after heading off we saw one standing sentry on a tree!

We saw stork's nests on street lights & then this one on the MIDDLE chimney of the house. Rather wise to have more than one chimney!!  We learned that it is considered good luck if a stork makes it's nest on your roof! Hmmmmm...not so sure I'd feel that way!!

Our first destination for the day, was the ancient Roman city of Volubilis.

  

Jeff has an interest in all things Roman, so this was HIS day!  Volubilis was settled in the 3rd century BC & remained a Roman settlement until the 3rd century AD, when Rome withdrew from Mauretania. It was  then lived in by Christians before the Muslims by 788AD.

We decided not to hire a guide, as Jeff had done a lot of reading up on the site & was quite confident that he could play that role today.  The sun was blazing, but it was still thoroughly wonderful to wander around this ancient city.  There were a number of mosaics, this one of Diana & the bathing Nymphs being our favourite.  Sadly all of these mosaics are exposed to the elements, covered in dust & not well protected from visitors, so goodness knows how many more years they will survive.
 

Which of these columns is not like the others??????  Aside from the storks nest, this photo makes clearly evident the quality of 'restoration' work the French did to the site in the early 20th century!!

Back on the road again, we passed this incredible mobile phone tower which has clearly become a Hotel for storks!!!

Next stop was Meknes, where we couldn't visit the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail as it is Friday (Holy Day for Muslims), but we could admire the splendid gates to the city.

Another incredible piece of architectural planning was Heri es-Souani, which were HUGE grain stores with barrel vaulted ceilings.  With very thick walls & the clever use of water , which was collected in a pool-like area, the temperature was kept low & consequently food could be stored well for longer.

From Meknes we headed on towards Rabat, passing cork trees along the way. Notice the bark stripping on the base of the trunk.

Arrival in Rabat was overwhelming because of the maelstrom of traffic.  Not something we'd had much of in the medina of Fez! We had a quick look at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V.  It was stunningly decorated inside & out & we were fascinated to read that it had been designed by a Vietnamese architect!

Outside the Mausoleum, was a large plaza covered in marble columns & the Hassan Tower.  These were the remains of what was to have been a magnificent Mosque, destined to rival that of Cordoba in Spain.  Alas, it was never finished & all but the Minaret (&columns) were destroyed in an earthquake in 1755.

Battling the traffic again, our next destination was Chellah Necropolis, an ancient walled burial site. Before that it was a Roman City.

It then became a Mosque & burial site.  Currently it is the home of up to 70 storks.  How many stork nests can you find in this photo??

From one walled city to another, our last stop for the day was Kasbah Oudaia, a fortified area on a promontory looking out over the Atlantic.  This was initially the home of warriors placed here to protect the city from invaders.  It later became the home of pirates who pillaged the seas for Europeans to capture & sell on as slaves or ransom.

The buildings were white with stunning blue doors.

From the exterior walls, there is a magnificent view out over the harbour, where the colour blue decorates the boats.
It was a packed but enjoyable day.  Rachid had made every effort to make sure that we saw as much as possible before leaving Morocco tomorrow. We felt very fortunate!

LAST DAY IN FEZ

Our day began with more meandering amidst the narrow streets & alleys that make up the medina.  We were off to meet an Architect for a morning of looking at Fez architecture!  Enroute we were fortunate to glance up & spot one of the very early forms of window!  Note it has openings just big enough for anyone inside to look out, but not big enough for anyone to look IN! Generally Riads (houses designed for medina living) have no windows facing outwards at all. Our guide commented that the purpose of the house looking inward, was a form of protection, from both nature & it's various elements & humans who may wish to cause harm!

Our session was with Alaa, who has completely renovated this 17th century Riad.  Using the structure of the Riad as his demonstration model, he explained how spiritually connected the house design is to the Koran.  The thought & planning into the placement & function of the positioning's of doorways & rooms, was amazing!  The photo above is taken from a hidden interior balcony, where the daughter of the house could spy on any prospective husbands who came to visit, as it looks directly into the guest salon!!! He, however, could not see her, as a cleverly crafted screen ensured that she was hidden!

From the terrace we had the most spectacular view.  His Riad is one of the oldest & is situated in the oldest area of the medina, consequently it is very close to the Mosque, the Medersa & the Koranic library!! It is also close to the River, the existence of which we had heard of, but not seen until today!  Some of the city is built over the river, so quite a bit of it is hidden from view anyway! In the early days of Riad living, the terrace was only used by the women to hang out washing & perform chores, however, unlike today, where the terrace is open & one can wave to one's neighbours, the earlier terraces had...

...walls with slits in them, so the women could look out, but no one could look in! (Familiar theme here!!)

We had the great privilege of being taken to the oldest existing Riad, which has just begun to be renovated.  Even though it has been let go for several years, there is still quality & beautiful standards of craftsmanship evident.  But oh my, what a labour of love! Alaa's Riad took 3 years to renovate! A big commitment!

The afternoon was spent in the souk, trying to find a few last minute presents that would fit in our suitcases without breakage. Shopping here is not easy & I hate wrangling over cost. As a result I didn't buy ANYWHERE near as much as I'd like to have!! So, from Jeff's perspective, probably a good thing!

I collect prayer beads, so on finding a stall that sold a wide variety, I had a hard time choosing.  I would have liked to have bought some really BIG chunky ones, but I'm not ready for my husband to have a heart attack yet!!

As we walked down alley after alley, getting quite lost at one point, we came across a few young men with silk thread attached to one end of the wall, & then metres further down they were twisting & weaving it into braids.

I was determined to get one carpet cushion!  We don't buy carpets because our cat destroys anything we put on the floor, so the compromise was a cushion cover!! Even so, we still had a spiel about the quality of carpets from Zennor!!  I have to say that after showing us three carpets & us both adamantly repeating that we wouldn't buy a carpet...the salesperson accepted it & didn't push any more on us, which is a record in our experience!!
 The thing I really DONT like about Fez (apart from bartering) is that it is hilly, which means that by the time all the purchases were made we had a LOT of uphill walking to do before collapsing in our Riad exhausted! What a great day though!!

A DIFFERENT SORT OF DAY IN FEZ!

This morning we tackled the narrow passage ways of the medina by ourselves, enroute to see the Medersa Bou Inania.  It differs to the other medersas we have seen, in that it has a prayer hall, which we were not allowed to go into.

It also has a minaret, because aside from being a Koranic school, it was a mosque!  The tile work on the minaret was particularly spectacular, especially having seen yesterday, how each individual tile piece was cut for this type of zellij work.

We have become enamoured with the green glazed tiles on the religious sites here, clearly grasses blown in the wind appreciate them too!!

This is the carved screen above the entrance door.  Beautifully carved wood adorned this medersa.

Getting there had been one thing, getting back to our Riad was it's own challenge! We did fairly well, with a few minor meanderings!!  We saw this sign & as soon as Jeff had taken the photo & turned the camera off, we turned around to see a donkey coming towards us!!!  Rules are there to be broken!!

We needed to get back to our Riad for our 11am cooking class! Three Americans & us, were donned with aprons & introduced to Fatima, the Chef, who very quickly set us all to work!

 

We started with dessert, which wasn't very Moroccan...but delicious looking...a lemon meringue tart, & then we went onto some Moroccan pastries very similar to samosas.

These involved some seriously thin filo pastry & a bit of a knack making them into neat triangles.  There were three fillings; cheese & herb, meat with herbs & a bit of spice, & mixed vegetables. We were offered a glass each of Moroccan wine as we were working &...how could we refuse!!  It wasn't a Spanish Rioja but it was certainly a drinkable drop!!

Alas we didn't stay any longer than samosa making, because we had finally managed to book a session in the Riad's own, very popular,  Hammam. The 17th century hammam was restored by the current owner & is a FANTASTIC experience.  We lay on heated marble benches...just room for two people only...in a darkened steamy room with a domed ceiling. After being thoroughly sweated out, we were sluiced down with bowls of warm water, which has to be one of the most lovely sensations ever!  Black eucalyptus soap was slathered over us & we were scrubbed down removing all the oil & gunge. More sluicing & then a face mask & resting in the steam, until we finished with a shower to remove the residue. Fabulous experience, which I followed up with a very firm massage using orange blossom oil from a masseuse with magic hands! Very relaxing way to spend part of the day!!  After this I had an hour to get my energy back up & the oil out of my hair before...

...our calligraphy workshop.  It all looked very promising when the tub of bamboo brushes came out.

They were not easy to use at all & even the simplest forms took a lot of practise.  This experience did highlight the incredible skill of calligraphy artists & we could see why it takes years of practise & study to become proficient.

Our instructor Mohammed is passionate for calligraphy & it showed in the enthusiastic way he talked about the history of Arabic script & all it's variations & the guidelines required to produce it effectively.  Unfortunately, Mohammed hasn't learnt yet, that when someone is visiting & books a 2 hour workshop, they want some small project to DO, not an academic lecture for 95% of the time! I found this very hard going, which made me feel guilty, because he is a sweet & earnest man & was sharing what he loves. I'm going to have to be a bit diplomatic when I write feedback on this experience!!

Tonight, we leave the safety of the Riad again & seek out Café Clock for dinner!

EXPLORING FEZ

Behold the Imperial city of Fes....well, a very small part of it! The medina of Fes is HUGE & it was an excellent start to the day, to drive up to one of the forts & look down upon it's expanse.

Before entering the UNESCO listed medina, we paid a short visit to the Royal Palace...one of many scattered throughout the country.  This one is not open to the public, but they have a stunning entrance where examples of various decorative styles used within the palace are brought together in a cohesive display.  The enormous brass doors were particularly impressive...

...especially when viewed up close!  Whilst we were there, two employees were diligently polishing the brass!  Not a fun job!

Also outside the walls of the medina is the American Fondouk. Long ago this was an early version of a hotel, where those travelling in trade caravans would stay if they arrived in Fes after the city gates had shut. In more recent times, an American woman bought the Fondouk & established it as a hospital for....STORKS!  (I don't think other birds were turned away though!!) Now it is an animal hospital!!

We had an opportunity to see a ceramic works cooperative, so we took it & had a fascinating time, seeing the various processes used in the production of ceramic tiles & various wares.  Fes has been producing ceramics for eons!  Above the tagine bases & tops are drying in the sun before they are glazed.

Mosaic pieces called zellij are made on site, once the tiles are glazed & cooled.  It was really interesting to see these men at work, such precision needed & such monotonous work, but the end results were stunning!

Entering the medina of Fes through the Bab Boujeloud gate, we learned that the blue patterning on the outward facing side represents welcome.

Whilst the green, inward facing side represents harmony.  These two colours are frequently used throughout Islamic decoration.

We followed our guide Naim down narrow alleyways, some crowded with people & others somewhat emptier.

He took us to the Mellah, the area where the Jewish refugees from Cordoba, Spain came in the aftermath of expulsion in 1492.  The interesting difference here, was that unlike the riad houses along the narrow passages which, similar to the roman villa, look inward, these homes all looked outwards, towards the streets.

We saw a Medersa, the outsides of Mosques & Mausoleums, all of which I've posted examples of before.  This scene is on the steps of the Andalusian Mosque, which Jeff took with a distance lens.  It is so full of character that I felt it worth sharing!

One of the 'must-see's in Fes is the tanneries, where all the leather is dyed.  Here you not only see the colour vats in the foreground, but the vats at the back contain a mix of lime, pigeon poo & something else, which produce an ammonia mix that removes the wool from the skin. Imagine working in that...WITHOUT ANY PROTECTION!!! On the roof tops of the surrounding buildings, the wool & leather dries in the sun.  It was a stinky place...we were very grateful for the sprigs of mint we were given to hold up to our noses!! As to be expected we did have a bit of a sales pitch to endure after seeing this activity below & yes, to be expected, I did buy something....but refused the leather jackets promotion!!!!!!!

Now a pottery souk, this area of Fes was a very early (1286)  mental asylum !

Walking through the souks, we'd seen a few of these intriguing contraptions.  We were told that they are chairs for the bride in wedding ceremonies!  Families hire them for the big occasion!  These were at least a reasonable size, compared to in the wood museum we were soon to visit, where we came across a wooden version of the above & it was so tiny, that the brides would have to have been exceedingly petite to fit in!  I certainly wouldn't have!

The Fondouk el Nejjarine was once  a caravanserai, where travelling traders would stay whilst in Fez.
Inside these doors...

...the horses, mules & dromedaries would be accommodated on the ground floor level & the humans would sleep in the little rooms upstairs.  This beautiful place has been restored & now houses a very interesting wood museum, which alas, wouldn't allow me to take photos of exhibits!  They showcased items from tools to musical instruments.  Some of the most interesting pieces were the tablets on which individuals had written out sections of the Koran in the process of trying to learn it by heart.  This display included a certificate, also made of wood. 
What a fabulous introduction to Fes.  We were well & truly worn out after it, having become aware that, unlike Marrakech, Fes is NOT flat!!!  It was also 40 degrees Celsius here today...not a temperature I enjoy!!  Our Riad was cool & relaxing when we returned to it &oh so WELCOME!