Saturday, February 15
Fes
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Our trip to Fes, Morocco went easily but was boringly
long. Rochester-Atlanta-Paris-Casablanca
and we then drove four hours from Casablanca to Fes. We left at noon Rochester time and arrived
almost 24 hours later; each of us slept for just a couple of hours
fitfully. The countryside along the
Mediterranean coast was flat and verdant; it’s spring here and fruit trees are
in bloom and fields are a beautiful green.
After a while we turned inland over the lower Atlas Mountains until we
reached the city of Fes, known for its Medina (old city) and the souk (market)
within.
After checking in we met our guide and immediately began a
walk into the souk. This is a phenomenal
warren of tiny alleys with crowds of people and incredible sights, sounds and
smells. Some examples:
The wholesale olive vendor:
The wool cleaner (you buy the wool from a skin and she
cleans and fluffs it for you):
A weaver:
The chicken seller (all meat so fresh because he first
weighs the live chicken, then butchers and cleans it right in front of you!):
One of the many burros carrying things through the souk:
The tannery dying vats:
Scraping fat off of the skins after tanning:
The hamsa maker (he uses shavings from cow horns):
The coppersmith:
Music in the souk made by the vat makers:
Rentable wedding clothes:
An old fountain:
Finally, exhausted, we washed up, went out to dinner, and
crashed!
That's a lot of traveling, all right. But what amazing sights once you got to the Medina! Thanks especially for the clip of the rhythmic hammering--I suppose this makes the hard work more interesting for the two guys doing the hammering. Maybe we could all find ways to bring intriguing sounds and patterns into what we do in daily life. Walking could become a kind of dancing. Cutting a carrot could match a song we are singing....
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