Day 5 October 19, 2024 Fes 11.5 miles
The shower in our room was one of the worst ever. It was in a really tall tub that was difficult to climb over and lacked adequate doors to keep the water off the floor. This is a Marriott Hotel which should have been better.
We went to breakfast which was in a room very far from our hotel room. This is a very large complex and there is no map. There should have been a shorter distance to the breakfast room but we didn’t find it. Breakfast foods were spread out on three tables each in a different portion of the cafe. Connie wasn’t impressed with breakfast either. Not a fan of this hotel.
We met at the bus at 8:45 to begin our day’s tour of the Medina (old city) and the Jewish quarter. The morning is very cloudy and cool. No rain fell all day and the sun eventually came out.
The Medina is supposed to be pedestrian only traffic with the exception of the donkeys used to carry trash out of the Medina. We did see a couple of these donkeys and a couple of motorcycles which could be in big trouble if the police caught them. There were many single person hand carts that are used to move just about anything though out the small old city.
Each community within the Medina has five parts: a fountain, public bath, school, religious building and community bakery. The community bakery is where a family member brings dough to the bakery where it is baked in a wood oven. At a later time a family member comes to pick up the baked bread.
Lots of shops are open for business. We saw lots of spices and food items. Many of the sweets are made at home and then brought to the shop. One business was selling fresh camel meat. Other shops sold beef jerky, Fez hats, clothing, lamps, copper pots, wood decorations, honey cakes, leather products and too many other items to mention.
We saw the oldest university in the world, an old hotel that accommodated trades people, a carpet shop, and a leather tannery. We ate lunch in someone’s house. Food choices were similar to yesterday but not quite as good. Connie had the lemon chicken again but there was not enough sauce and the breast meat was dry. Rob had beef and vegetable couscous. It looked better.
The carpet stop allowed us time to sit down. That felt good since we had been going up and down steps and inclines and declines. The alleyways are often barely one person wide. People are going both directions and then throw in some carts and donkeys. Most merchants aren’t overly pushy.
We also saw the shrine to the city founder. We could not enter the facility because we weren’t Muslim. A couple of Frenchmen were going in but our guide told them they were not allowed. We could take a picture from one door.
After lunch was the tannery. Connie stayed on the ground level rather than climbing the 35-45 very steep, uneven, with no hand rail steps. The waiting room had lots and lots of leather products for sale. They had enough pairs of shoes to shoe an entire army. A few purchases were made here by members of our group.
Then we drove a short distance to the Jewish quarter. Where the group continued to walk. Jewish people were protected by the Muslins during WWII. Connie and another lady stayed on the bus.
We got back to the hotel about 4:30. Our room had not been cleaned and it was cold. Housekeeping came about 5:00 but we only took more bottled water and fresh towels. Never figured out the heat.
Spoffords Travel 