Morocco calling! A photo essay. Part 1
By Leanne Kitchen
Itching to get to Morocco? You’re not alone. According to the Trading Economics website, the Kingdom is expecting as many as 12 million tourist arrivals in 2024. Last year I was one of them, lured by the promise of ancient medinas, gorgeous architecture and gallons of mint tea, and with snippets of Paula Wolfert’s iconic food prose rattling around my head.
In a trip that wasn’t really long enough (but really, whenever is it!), my precise destination was UNESCO heritage-listed Fez (فاس) (also spelled Fes from the French name, Fès), and a few surrounding towns. Plus Rabat, the country’s capital and briefly, Casablanca.
I’m determined to return as I never made it to Marrakech, Tangier or, bummer, the port town of Essaouira. In the meantime, I’ve fashioned a slideshow of my Moroccan highlights, with some random thoughts. I’m sharing them here, so you can get the overall vibe and maybe start planning your own North African adventures.
Fes 1.One of Morocco’s four old imperial cities, I’d long dreamed of navigating the intricate maze of the Fes medina and taking in the souks, monuments and (what I imagined to be) its tangible sense of history. We stayed in a lovely old riad, right near the legendary Blue Gate (Bab Bou Jeloud), a main entrance to the medina. Without much of an agenda, we took each day as it came. As a carb lover, my fave thing to do quickly became visiting the same bread vendor each morning for fresh msemmen, a flat bread similar to paratha. ‘My’ guy would split one, smear it with soft cheese, drizzle over honey, roll it up in brown paper and send me on my way. Then, I’d go join the blokes at an old-school cafe for a couple of stiff espressos to wash it down. Our riad threw breakfast into the deal (as is the norm) but I much preferred hitting the streets. (Oh and that tagine you spy? It was sardine. Delicious!)
Fes 2. In line with my breakfast ritual, what I loved most in Fes was simply getting out and about, before shops opened, and meandering around the medina’s empty streets. The residents were at their most relaxed then, all the architectural details could be better appreciated and it was possible to have some lovely encounters. Like the conversation I had with this charming fellow, who was full of great tips, warmth and good humour. Fes is famous for its artisans, such as the lady hand-painting her bowl. Entire sections of the medina are given over specific crafts; the best leather craftsmen are around the Choura Tannery, in the Henna Souk you find amazing pottery; the Bab Samarin district is where plenty of jewellers lurk. And so on. After a hectic day, it’s de rigueur to seek out a rooftop bar and simply watch the sun go down. We discovered the newly-opened Mezzanine (Ave Moulay Hassan), where the friendly staff can tell you all about the Meknes-produced wine they serve. It’s not bad!
Fes 3. Fun Fes facts; the city was founded in 789 and until 1912, it was Morocco’s capital. The medina dates from the 9th century and is literally a labyrinth of some 9,000 alleys, too narrow for cars; mules or push-carts are used to ferry goods around. You hear cries of 'balak!' ('look out!’) as mule drivers come through. It’s the world’s largest medieval Islamic city and the world’s largest pedestrianised zone; you get lost here, that's just a fact. The famous tannery mentioned before is the world’s oldest; the Al-Karaouine University (founded in 859) is the oldest degree-conferring university in the world. While random wandering is the best way to uncover Fes’s charm, the stunning Medersa Bou Inania, built between 1351 and 1357, and the Medersa El Attarine (founded in 1325) are marvels of elegance and beauty and deserve a bee line. Oh and that chap on the phone in the striped djellaba? It’s NOT an absconded Scott Morrison, as one Lazy Susan staffer suggested!
Fes 4. While the medina can seem totally confounding, there is a sort-of logic to its layout that helps with navigation. (Kind of. Maybe. Good luck!) Most visitors enter though the Blue Gate, from where two parallel streets descend into the guts of the medina. These are Talaa Kebira (Big Slope) and Talaa Seghira (Little Slope) and it’s helpful to think of the medina as a basin… using either of these streets you walk downhill from the Blue Gate into the medina’s heart, then, when the incline goes up, you’re walking toward the other side and ultimately out of the medina. So generally, if you’re walking uphill, you’re walking toward the edge of the medina and can easily get out. If that makes sense. When you get lost (again, there’s no ‘if’ here!), someone will likely offer to guide you out but be aware, they’ll require payment.
Fes 5. We were invited to eat home cooked couscous one Friday – Friday being the biggest mosque day when shops close and families enjoy a big lunch together. It was interesting to be in a local home, and the hospitality was kind. However it wasn’t without significant cost and this is something to be clearly negotiated before accepting any sort of offer. “Please come to my house for lunch with a hundred thousand warm welcomes” can, we found, be a purely transactional gesture… so clear the money part up first. Those guys beating copper? You’ll find them in the plaza of Place Seffarine, one of the nicest parts of the medina and where you’ll see beautiful hand-beaten pots and pans just begging to be taken home.
Fes 6. It’s such a shame non-Muslims can’t visit most mosques in Morocco because their tiled interiors, filled with beautiful hand-worked decorative detailing, look incredible – from stolen glances through open doors. There are around 300 mosques in the Fes medina alone. Luckily there’s so much else to divert one’s attention; I haven’t really discussed the shopping! (Fes is Shopping Central. We came home piled high with leather poufs and ceramics, and could have gone utterly bonkers with carpets if SOMEONE hadn’t blown the budget in Spain). For those who love to wander with no real plans (and with a tasty savoury briouat in hand!), and people watch, Fes is heaven.
Sefrou 1. Sefrou is a gem. But get it while you can because I reckon it’s only a matter of time before this lovely town gets properly ‘discovered’ and inundated. Then poof. There goes the atmosphere. Sefrou is famous for the cherries that thrive in the fertile local soil; visit in June for the fruit harvest and annual Cherry Festival. Situated 30km south of Fes, the easiest way to get here is by car or grande taxi (we paid 600 dirhams for the day, including a great driver). Sefrou was a significant centre of Moroccan Jewry but the community is pretty much gone, despite the town once being dubbed ‘Little Jerusalem’. By 1968, most of the Jews had relocated to Europe or Israel; allegedly there are a handful left but because they keep a very low profile no one seems to know how many there are.
Sefrou 2. I really wanted to experience Sefrou’s Thursday market and it didn’t disappoint. A full-on for-locals affair, complete with sheep and goats trussed together around their horns, farmers from nearby Berber towns and villages come to sell and buy livestock, feed and veggies. We were the only tourists for miles and after the crush and touristy clamour of the Fes medina, this was a welcome relief. Back in town, the souk is small and relatively relaxed; eating a comforting bowl of bissara (dried broad bean soup), topped with cumin, chilli and lashings of olive oil, then wandering around the vegetable, fish and sweet stalls, proved a pleasant way to spend a morning. Over the Oued Aggai river lies the lovely old walled Jewish Quarter or ‘mellah’ with its luminous pastel walls, distinctive wooden balconies and doors, and inscriptions from the poet Rumi splashed here and there. It’s very pretty and if you’re keen on photography, there are opps galore.
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Let’s go traveling…
