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We've been on the road for what seems like forever. We're still in the hills, but slowly descending. We can see the lights of Fez in the distance, another very big city. We're gonna stay on the outskirts tonight. We didn't want to venture down into the city at night, too easy to get lost. I turned onto a side street looking for a hotel. We're looking for a place out of the main stream to get better deal on price. We came across the Hotel Rex. It's not in bad shape, it didn't look like it was going to fall on our heads during the night. it was reasonably priced and above our minimum standard. Al's going to sleep in the car again tonight. The rest of us may have got just one room again, not sure. Its now morning, we've decided to go to the Medina for the biggest part of the day. The Medina is where everything happens, so this is where we want to be. Fez is the third largest city in Morocco, but has the largest Medina in the country. We've been driving around for quite awhile and we can't find a way to the Medina; really? the biggest area in the city and we can't find a way to get to it. Someone asked a guy driving a moped {but not me} how to get there, he offers to take us. We follow him through dozens of streets and corner turns. We're finally at the Medina. We could have found it ourselves given enough time; and when we're done we still have to find our way back to our hotel. I should mention that there are thousands of mopeds, they're everywhere, like ants on a hill, and the driving habits of the operators are fucking! insane. The guy wants us to hire him to guide us into the Medina. We decided because it's so huge that it was a good idea to have him show us through. We settled on an price and in we go. He took us down narrow alleyways that had hundreds of tiny shops and stalls, we saw several mosques and ancient schools as well. He took us to a tanning souk that was huge, and reeked of animal urine, which is an ingredient used in the tanning process. We also went to souks that do silver, copper and brass works. The processes they used for creating all of their crafts were all old school, no modern techniques are used. The Medina in Marrakesh was pretty damn big but nowhere near this size. We spent the better part of the day in the Medina. It was great, we saw so much. Of course we weren't able to go into the mosques, only into the courtyards. These are old but beautiful buildings and plazas. The guide brought us out at the end of our tour, got paid and went on his way. We took a drive up to the Kasbah. It is quite large; and virtually a city within a city. Fez is quite an amazing place. The Arabic word form of kasbah generally refers to multiple buildings in a keep, a citadel or several structures behind a defensive wall. A kasbah was a place for the local leader to live in, and was a defensive element when the city was under attack. A kasbah has high walls, usually without window openings. The Fez Medina is the best we've seen, its so big that to do it real justice you would have too spend three or four days walking around, and you still wouldn't see all of it, but most. It's now late in the day, we need to start back to the hotel. On the way back wouldn't you know it, we got lost; go figure. We were in the general area of the hotel but couldn't quite zone in on it We asked a cop for directions, he was more than happy to help us out, and he didn't even ask us for money. Down the street a little bit and a couple of turns and we're there. Al and I took a walk to the bank to get money changed but it was already closed. So back to the hotel we go. We all went out for something to eat. By the time we finished dinner it was getting quite late, so it's back to the hotel. Al's going to sleep in the car again tonight; he just didn't want to spend the money. Sleep tight Al, see you in the morning. In the morning Al came in and said there was something wrong with the car, it wouldn't start. I don't remember if it was a gas or battery problem, or maybe something else. We're going to push it down the street to a garage to have it looked at. As we started pushing the car, a young kid about 10 years old comes along and said his father is a mechanic and his shop is just a block away. Okay kid lead the way. It only took a couple of minutes to get to the garage. The kids father said he'll fix it up and we should come back at 11 o'clock. We tipped the kid 10 Dhm [$2.50 Can] for helping us out, he was blown away. He said his father works almost a whole day for that amount. Because the bank was closed yesterday Al and I went back this morning to change money while the the car was being fixed. Never did remember what the car problem was. At 11 o'clock it's back to the garage. We pile our gear in the car, got in, and we're on our way. Next stop, Meknes. Page #15 Page links 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 |
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late night in Fez
Hotel Rex, Fez
Mosque and plaza in the Fez Medina
the Kasbah, Fez
overview of Fez Medina
gateway to old city Fez
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