The traffic is heavy but not as chaotic as Cairo or Palermo. There is some sort of unspoken order to it all.
The medina is just as the guide books describe. There are lots of donkeys and mules moving supplies through the narrow streets, and yes, you must get out of the way or be trampled. But there are increasing numbers of porters moving good on handcarts or small motor bikes.
Compared with Egypt, where the streets were filled with trash (including dead animals) which seldom were cleaned up, so far the streets are quite clean and orderly.
Unemployment in Morocco is very high and there is no social safety net of welfare or unemployment except the extended family or mosque. Ghali says often one worker will support entire extended families, This unemployment results in large numbers of men, both young and old, idling away their days at outdoor cafes, nursing cups of coffee or mint tea.
Speaking of which, I find the true mint tree almost undrinkable it is so heavily sugared. We did discover you could order it without sugar, which made it more palatable.
Minarets are square, right to the top and decorated in green tiles.
The national flag is red with a green five angled open star which represents the five pillars of Islam.
Our hotel is on the very edge of the medina. It is surprisingly quiet with little street noise. Our room overlooks the terrace and pool. Several fountains make a pleasant sound.
Lots of bougainvillea in several colors, hibiscus and roses and other plants I can't identify. Palms, cedars, norfolk pine and several kings of oaks. In the rural areas we have passed, fences are made from interwoven brush or prickly cactus. The cactus produce a fruit which can be eaten by humans or used as animal fodder.
About half the men are in western dress (mostly the younger ones) and half in jelabas. The women are more of a mixed group. The youngest are in tight jeans and sweaters, boots, some with head cvoering, some not. School girls where a white smock, no matter what school they seem to attend nor what age group.Many of the older women were the full jelaba and head covering. To this point had seen only one woman in complete Saudi-style black garb.
The Moroccan jelabas are in all sorts of bright colors and patterned fabrics. The jelaba is the universal outdoor garb of both men and women.
Everywhere we went in Morocco, houses and apartment building were festooned with satellite dishes, like a plot of sunslowers turned to the sun, all facing the same direction. The Fez medina is said to have have changed since the 13th century but it has - it has electricity, running water, sewers and satellite dishes!
We had dinner at a private mansion deep in the medina. It was a fantastic place with so-so food but vigorous conversation.
A mellah is an old Jewish quarter. Most Jews left Morocco after the foundation of the state of Israel and during the many wars that followed. The area in Fez has been taken over by
non-Jews but retains many of its characteristics. It is an upscale area, outside the medina, with wider streets and a better class of shops.
Bob took the trip to the cave dwellings and the pottery works while I lazed away on the balcony, reading and resting.
We visited the exterior of a mosque hidden deep in the medina. Many women seemed to be using the courtyard as a "meet and greet" gathering place.
Toured the oldest part of the medina in the morning. First picture is the gate we entered at. Saw all the sights the guide books recommend. The medina is a warren of passageways and I wonder that anyone person could be familiar with them all. Saw a stall selling camel meat! The tanneries were smelly, as expected. We also stopped at a rug cooperative which resulted in a really hard sell which I resisted. Too large in size, too high a price and no one run called to me to say "I must have it."
Or as the Moroccans spell it Fes. We had a wonderful view from our hotel room. The food at the hotel's Moroccan style restaurant was mediocre but they did feature a fine young belly dancer as entertainment. Ellwood Lewis could not resist the opportunity to dance with her. Woke the next morning to sunshine and bird song - not to mention the 5 am call to prayer which is a cacophony of 5 or 6 muezzins competing (you can see three minarets in the picture alone) and it goes on and on as no two start at the same time. The first call to prayer of the day is by far the longest of the five during the day.
The sacred city of Moulay Idris as seen from Volubilis. We took a very narrow and poorly maintained road through the mountains to Moulay Idris and drove through the town on our way to Fez. It was a long drive through country that reminded me of Wyoming - but without cattle. It was completely dark when we arrived in Fez. The furniture at the Palais Jamai hotel was ornately inlaid or painted wood.
The highlight of the day - and one of the highlights of the entire trip - was the Roman ruins of the outpost city of Volubilis. The ruins are extensive and in amazingly good condition. The site was the most remote and far-flung Roman base in Mauritania Tingitana - the end of the imperial road through France and Spain, across the Straits of Gibraltar and into north Africa. The site was previously a Carthaginian colony in the third century BC and a Berber trading post prior to the Roman arrival in 45 AD. The city remained alive and active will into the eighteenth century, after which it became covered with sand. The ruins are mostly 2nd and 3rd century Roman. Notice the ubiquitous storks.
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