Leather Dying in the Imperial City of Fes
Morocco! I went into the country without any expectations…or plans. Me and two friends traveled from Milan to Fes with the name of our hotel as our only guide. This proved a little problematic because when we got to the Fes airport we had to fill out documents stating the address where we were staying. Luckily our American passports guaranteed us a quick entrance into the country (one of the many perks of being from the U.S.). Exiting the airport at night we hailed a taxi and warily climbed in. We agreed on a price beforehand (100 MAD or about 10 euros) and off we went. The door of the taxi was held shut by a screwdriver. I couldn’t help but wonder what I had gotten myself into. Luckily the taxi was legit and we were brought to our four-star hotel which only cost us 50 euros for our two-night stay. Starving, we threw our bags in our room and hurried down to the hotel restaurant, where we ate in an empty dining room. Midway through the meal a Moroccan man sat down at the keyboard and began playing American pop music with a heavy accent. We were literally the only ones in the entire restaurant and it was thoroughly awkward. Midway through WHAM!’s “Wake Me up Before You Go Go” I began laughing hysterically, which didn’t make things any less awkward. Unfazed, we hired a guide through the hotel to take us through the Medina the next day.
Abdul arrived bright and early the next day ready to show us the wonders of the city center or medina. Since the medina has over 9000 alleyways and streets Abdul assured us that he was quite necesssary. He also informed us that if we got lost, we would most likely never be seen again. Feeling far from reassured, we drove to a pottery factory on the outskirts of the city. It was absolutely incredible to see the method of pottery-making from start to finish. All of the pottery is hand painted, and they showed us the amazing mosaics and crafts that they make everyday. After this excursion we headed into the funky cold medina.
Our Guide, Abdul, and His "Mercedes"
The medina was an all-out assault on the senses. People were screaming in Arabic (the national language; hardly anyone speaks French) hawking goods and produce. The smells were….pungeant to say the least. Men were walking around in djellabas, long, hooded, robe-like garments and mules and donkeys were roaming the tiny alleyways. Our guide, Abdul, made the same joke comparing large donkeys to Mercedes’ about ten times. We were shown around the various mosques (although not allowed inside), and given a tour of the major sites in the medina. In addition, we were brought into various shops where we were given the hard sell on some random items (I’m pretty sure that Abdul was getting a kickback on anything we bought). We were offered everything from Berber rugs to moisturizer made from a nut pooped out by a goat. In the pharmacy the proprietor slyly offered us opium. After politely declining most of the goods, we emerged from the Medina and headed back to the hotel.
The next day we had a new guide, Mehmet (pronounced Mek-met) who took us to various towns and villages surrounding the city of Fes. We got in his car (“Nice! Spacious! New!”) and began our trek. We first stopped in a “Swiss town” named Ifrane in the Atlas Mountain range which actually looked like it belonged in Switzerland. To our surprise, it was snowing… In Morocco…. In Africa. After lunch, we headed to the nearby cedar forest, where we mingled with monkeys who took the bread we brought out of our guides’ hands and got in monkey-fights over it. After our monkey excursion we traveled to a Berber village. We were brought by our guide into a cave where a Berber woman lives with her husband. Her family had lived in the cave for 400 years, and the place felt cozy and homey. She was an incredible woman and she made us tea after balancing a bucket full of water on her head and dancing around the room to impress us. After our delicious mint tea, our guide ferried us back to the airport where we milled around for a while (there were dogs running around on the tarmac) before getting on our flight back to Milan.
Tea in the Cave with the Homeowner
A Boy Collecting Water from a Fountain
All in all, Morocco proved a remarkable country and gave me such a different experience from any other trip I have taken. It was my first time traveling in a Muslim country, and the call to prayer from the mosque is totally unlike the bells of the Duomo. Thankfully, Morocco provided me a unique and exciting travel experience, which I will definitely remember for a long time. On Saturday I return to the United States, and I am just now coming to terms with leaving the country I have called home for almost four months. Let the packing begin.
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