Travel to Live. Live to Travel

The view of the marketplace from the inside of Bou Inania Madrasa (built in the 13th century)

We met our guide today after breakfast for a whirlwind tour around Fez. While we learned quite a lot about Fez’s history, we also learned quite a bit about Islam (as it is practiced in Morocco, at least.) We visited various medresas (Koranic schools) and shrines–and since Fez is the artisan capital of Morocco, we also visited the tanneries and the ceramic kilns.

Fez's tanneries... those vats are filled with lye, excrement, and urine. Did you know that's how leather was made up until fairly recently (and still is when you buy "naturally made" leather!)

I knew that during Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. However, I didn’t realize that meant they also didn’t drink water. I remember saying, “I feel so terrible eating in front of these people,” when we ate at a family’s home, but Hugh responded with, “They probably feel bad for you for not believing in Allah.” Indeed, when I asked Jawad if it was difficult to fast, he said very sincerely that it was not–that it was very spiritual, and when your belief in god is strong, you can do anything. They manage to survive the day by resting or sleeping through most of it, but I had much respect and admiration for our guide and the many people I saw working today. I simply cannot imagine having belief, faith, or strength in anything enough to go a month while working every day and not eating or drinking for over 12 hours (longer when Ramadan starts in July). People were very welcoming and aware that we weren’t fasting and took efforts to make sure we were properly hydrated and fed. But people in Morocco are very kind and friendly in general, so I’m not surprised.

This city has surprised me in a lot of ways. I never really had any idea of what to expect, and my knowledge of the Muslim world is very slim (and I would argue I follow it more than the average person.) Here many women are veiled–but many are not. People dress conservatively, but after centuries of immigration (most Moroccans have roots in Spain and other parts of North Africa and the Middle East), the French, and tourism–they don’t seem to bat an eye no matter how much cleavage a tourist shows. I’ve also been very amazed at how many different people I’ve seen–blonde Moroccans, Arabs, Senegalese immigrants and pilgrims (there’s a shrine to a Senegalese saint in Fez)–the only thing which is rare are Asians, except, of course, Japanese. People keep saying “konnichi wa” to me, even after I say I’m not Japanese. ;p

Tajine of couscous cooked by Ms. Karima

Also, while touring the sights of this very, very old city, I was able to look very closely at the craftmanship from the Islamic world from 900-1400AD. At a time when a lot of other parts of the world were wallowing in squalor, Fez (well, Morocco) had fountains in every neighborhood to drink and bathe. Many of those fountains are still in use. I touched doors that were carved 800 years ago and marveled at the beautiful carved plaster that adorned shrines and schools.

Plaster art from the 12th century

The architects of the time were very smart–all around the narrow paths of the medina are doors, some nicer than others. Opening a door leads to a new world. Many people’s homes have an open courtyard, sometimes with a fountain and usually with trees, with terraces on the roof. Despite the stifling heat, many people’s homes are very cool on the lower levels–especially in the shade of the trees. Coming from a city where people die in the summer from heat, I’m amazed at how much our society seems to have lost when it comes to practical architectural building ideas.

Enjoying the terrace

Anyways, for dinner–Hugh and I took a “petit taxi” to the “ville nouvelle” which Hugh remarked looked like Cambodia. I thought more like China. Just a newly developed area that looks very “Western” and lacks architectural distinction, as so many “new cities” do around the world and took a pizza back to the riad so we could eat quietly in our room. We leave very early tomorrow morning for Marrakesh. I wish we had one more day here to get lost in the medina–oh well, an excuse to come back again, enshalla (god willing).

A small part of the Fez medina (old walled city) built in the 8th century.

Today was our first day real day in Morocco–despite our best attempts, we missed breakfast on the terrace. The riad we’re staying at is even more lovely during the day, and the owners Alexandre and Yasmin have been fantastic so far.

We decided to go for a bit of a wander around–a walk that couldn’t have been more than 1km seriously took almost two hours. There’s so many turns and places to get lost, so many people who run up to you to give you directions, say hi, or try to have you buy their goods. It’s an assault on the senses, in a good way. I remember feeling this way when I first went to Japan, “wow, it REALLY IS exactly like it is in the movies…” (back then, it was “in the anime/manga, though.”) We’re in the old city of Fez (9th century!) and it while there are stalls selling cellphones and our beloved happy cow cheese, it feels like we’ve stepped back through time.

Hugh navigating the medina

We’re in a Muslim country, so we’re trying to be respectful–at one point, after a long slog, Hugh put a candy in his mouth and some young men shouted at us, “Stop! It is haram! Forbidden!” and died laughing when they saw our look of embarassment and shock. There are cafes open to tourists, even during Ramadan. It felt very embarassing to be eating food in front of people fasting all day, so we will probably try and avoid that again, even if it isn’t expected of us to fast. We’ll at least try and eat away from street view.

After getting lost in the medina for 4 hours, we went back to the riad and relaxed and then had dinner on the terrace which was delicious (as was lunch.)

Fez at night