After we left Rabat, we spent three nights in Fes, a city of around one million people about three hours by train east of Rabat. Fes was founded in the late eighth century not long after the conquest of North Africa by the Muslim armies, and portions of the walls surrounding the old city date from 800 years or so ago. It was of course this old city that we came to see. Although parts of the old city seemed to contain only tourists (like us), it was still definitely a working city with schools, mosques, shops, homes and shops and markets patronized only by the locals among the nearly 9500 roads and alleyways--some literally just big enough to walk through--inside its walls. The population inside is around 160,000.
We've visited a dozen or so of these old walled cities in the Middle East and North Africa now, and while Fes isn't number one on our list, we found it to be unique because of its size and because it is built on a hill. The old city is amazingly enormous, something we didn't fully realize until our last day, when we finally got high enough to see everything. It's probably the biggest that we've visited. Also, most of the other old cities we've visited were built on flat ground. However, Fes was built on a hill, a hill that is fairly steep at times, and this simple fact is something about which we both remarked. Below are some pictures of our time there.
A sheep being led through the streets of Fes.
Fes is famous for its leather goods, and this is part of the leather tannery. The vats contain bleach to clean the skins, as well as various different colors for dyeing. The workers just stand in the vats with their pants and shirts rolled up, working with the skins. They also have to deal with the intense stench emitted by the whole process. Have you ever bought a new leather jacket? Think of that smell multiplied by about a thousand.
The interior of a riad--an old home converted into accommodation for tourists--with a fancy central courtyard surrounded by three or four stories of rooms. They are popular places to stay in Fes, and we spent one night here.
The interior of a riad--an old home converted into accommodation for tourists--with a fancy central courtyard surrounded by three or four stories of rooms. They are popular places to stay in Fes, and we spent one night here.
Annamarie and Shelley, our friend from Minneapolis, drinking Moroccan mint tea.
A gate into the old city of Fes, with two minarets in the background.
The view from our riad.
A gate into the old city of Fes, with two minarets in the background.
The view from our riad.
A worker at the riad, serving us mint tea on the rooftop.
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