Fes

2008, 3.22-23 Fes, Morocco

After our trip on the Road to Zagora and returning to Marrakech, Nate and I decided to take a night train to Fes. We walked to the train station from the medina in Marrakech, at least a half hour by foot. We bought our train tickets and boarded the train within the next hour.

The train's interior reminded me of vintage furniture with baby blue patent leather seats. It was not the most comfortable of rides, but eventually we arrived in Fes at about 1:00 am. It was a very long night train ride from Marrakech to Fes. Thankfully, there was a fairly inexpensive hotel with vacancy right next to the train station, in which we were extremely fortunate to find an affordable room for the night.

The next morning, after a very restful night's sleep, the two of us got ready, checked out of the hotel and headed out into Fes in search of another place to sleep for the night. Before too long, we found a cheap place to stay, dumped off our backpacks, took a brief break, and then headed out to explore the city.

As we wandered, we found some lunch at La Bordeaux restaurant where I tried a Moroccan salad accompanied by, of course, mint tea. Our waiter was a very gentlemanly older man who served us very well, and we sat at a table looking out towards the street, making it great for people watching.

Moroccan Salad-a tasty lunch

After a lovely lunch, we continued to wander the city, going through the new part of the city first. One of the interesting experiences in Fes was stopping for an ice cream treat at McDonald's (something I would never normally do when traveling--I try to avoid American restaurants and chains). Nate and I were the only non-locals in the building and were receiving some very strange looks from the other customers in the restaurant. It was a very odd encounter, but an interesting one, nonetheless. I did notice some of different food items on the menu than back home, such as the McArabia sandwich. Besides the customer population and select few menu items, McDonald's was otherwise about the same as a McDonald's in the US, even the taste of the food.

From McDonald's, we wandered towards the old part of the city, the Medina. This part of the city is arguably the most interesting part of Fes. It is a labyrinth of old buildings, paths, fresh food markets, smells and aromas, beautiful hand crafts, and people. As we moved deeper into the Medina, it felt almost like stepping back in time, yet we did come across a sign advertising an internet cafe at one point.

Gate to the Medina in Fes

Hand-crafted wood carvings. To the right of these was a fairly small room with about 8-10 men standing at tables rigorously hand-carving these beautiful drums.

A few of the many infamous Moroccan hand woven rugs in the Medina, a painting of a Moroccan woman, and a sign in Arabic

Part of a tannery in the Medina of Fes, one of their very popular local trades

The Medina was a fascinating place; however, because I didn't spend a great amount of time here, I feel that my description would not do it justice. Some say that Fes is a city that takes some time to get to know in order to fully appreciate its unique character. After spending only a short time there, I feel I did get a small taste of what the culturally and historically rich city has to offer, but I agree.

After briefly exploring the Medina, Nate and I were lead out on the other side to find a taxi, which turned out to be quite a challenge. We ended up walking for about twenty minutes before getting into a cab that we shared with an elderly person who sat in the front. Before we knew it, the Medina was a thing of the past and we were in the new part of Fes, it was almost like traveling into the future as we moved through the city.

The boulevard in the new part of Fes

After the lucky cab ride (it would have been a long and confusing walk) back to the new part of Fes, we strolled along the modern streets and boulevards and people watched before grabbing some dinner. One thing I noticed as we went along was that, though there were many families on the boulevard wandering about, almost all of the patrons sitting at the roadside restaurants were men. Another notable thing about Fes was that there were few, if any, bars to go to, which, I believe, is largely due to their religious practice of abstaining from alcohol.

All in all, Fes was an interesting place full of many interesting experiences. If ever I get the chance to return to this unique city, I will certainly plan for more time here, especially so I can further explore the labyrinthian Medina.