The genesis of this trip was an invitation to participate in the exclusive experiential travel trade show known as PURE. It's held every year for 4 days in Marrakech, Morocco and I decided to add on a few days to explore Fes.
After traveling almost 24 hours (SFO to Chicago, Chicago to Paris, bus across town to change airports and then fly to Fes), I can tell you how NOT to route your air travel! But it worked for me given that I was trying to limit my time away from the office.
Morocco itself is at once ancient and contemporary and you feel that everywhere. It's a concoction of cultures - Berber, Arabic, French, Spanish- and the influence is seen and felt at every turn in the narrow old streets as well as the modern wide tree lined boulevards. Morocco, however, is not Switzerland! Meaning that the country and its people function on their own sense of time and cultural ideas which may not always seem the most efficient to us. It can be really frustrating so pack your patience and a sense of humor!
First impressions - stepping into the medina of Fes felt like stepping back in time as life goes on there as it has for six centuries. Over 4 kilometers of 12th century walls surround the old city. It's a maze of narrow winding cobblestone streets filled with ancient mosques, countless souks, donkeys pushing by laden with every conceivable type of goods for sale, ancient fondouks which once housed traveling merchants and their animals now used as inns and shops,live chickens and ducks waiting to be a meal, men knee deep in
Fes' famous tanneries - it's sensory and visual culture shock. At one point in the narrow alleyways I stopped for a photo and lost my group - got completely turned around, panicked, and being of a cynical nature thought all the male comments of "lady, you group go there" were trying to lead me astray. Turned out they were right when I finally did take the chance to enter a dark flight of stairs - and breathed a big sigh of relief to find them all there.
We visited one of the oldest mosques which had also been a school, an idea influenced apparently by the influx of Andalusians in the 14th century - and the Jewish Quarter and the 17th century Ibn Danan Synagogue. Saw women carrying trays of the round flatbread through the streets to the communal ovens to cook their family bread for the day, and a young workman manually chiseling the words of Quran onto headstones. Ducked into a curtained doorway to find a small group of children sitting at tables with no books but they sang a song to us with big grins. Then had lunch at Cafe Clock, an expat cafe and meeting place which was a highlight - great food and they spoke English!
An hour and a half drive takes you to extensive Roman ruins at Volubulis, it was the capital of the ancient Roman province of Mauritania (not just Romans made it here - Carthaginians, Phoenicians, and Berbers too). I wasn't prepared for how huge the site was, or the mosaics that are still right where they were originally set, not under glass or protected.
From there we went to Moulay Idriss, the holiest Muslim city in Morocco-at the center is the mausoleum of the man who brought Islam to Morocco 12 centuries ago. And we ate a fabulous meal here at the home/guesthouse of the same wonderful Brit who owns Cafe Clock in Fes.
From Fes we traveled on to Marrakech. Who knows why but there are no flights between the two so the options are to fly to Casablanca (45 min) and then drive 2 1/2 hours, take the train (7 hrs, clean and reasonable), or drive about 9 hours through the High Atlas mountains. We did the first one as it was the quickest way although probably the most boring in terms of sights and scenery, but when you're trying to pack in as much as possible in a short time it works.
On arriving we checked into the Royal Mansour which was built as the personal project of King Mohamed VI of Morocco. It is a mind boggling luxury resort with beautiful courtyards and fountains and opulent individual riads all with rooftop private pools. If you call for room or maid service, they magically appear in your hallway - due to a massive underground system of tunnels and elevators, it's all behind the scenes. I've never seen anything like it. And at breakfast our waiter served us actually wearing white gloves!
Marrakech is no longer an undiscovered city, every luxury hotel on the planet is opening here now. Visiting Djemaa el Fnaa which is the main square and probably the biggest in Africa, you feel the frenetic energy. This is where you'll find the snake charmers and performers and steaming food stands. The medina here is less overwhelming than in Fes but still full of the sense of the exotic. And a must do is a visit to the Majorelle Gardens.
They were opened to the public in 1947, begun in 1924 by a French painter who settled here and was also one of the most important plant collectors of his time. After he died the gardens and home were purchased by the designer Yves Saint Laurent who created a foundation to ensure it continued to exist. Aside from the medina and the gardens, the other major landmark is the 12th century Koutoubia mosque - its minaret is the one of three of the oldest remaining in the world.
But there's so much more to see and do in Morocco that I didn't have time for - the Atlas mountains and small Berber villages, Ouarzazate on the edge of the Sahara Desert, the dunes of the Desert, Essouira on the Atlantic Coast. It's hard to form an opinion when I only experienced two places so although I didn't love it, I'll go back to get a better sense. Food, always one of the things I look forward to discovering, was very good. Lots of couscous and "tagines" or stews of lamb, beef, or chicken, p'stilla which is sort of a savory/sweet pie made of pastry and chicken and nuts - lots of spices like cumin/cinnamon/saffron/paprika/ginger. And the meal always starts with many small plates of Moroccan salads both cooked and raw, the roasted eggplant dishes were my favorites. And oh boy, do they love sugar! Mint tea is a staple but if you don't ask for it to be unsweetened, your teeth squeak from the amount of sugar. I watched the whole tea making process one day as it's quite a production, and the sugar cube plopped into the tea pot was the size of a bar of soap!
And a few random thoughts - if you're mobility challenged in any way, this is not the place to go. Stairs are everywhere, flights of them, and they're narrow and steep and winding with no handrails. Except for the top luxury hotels, there are no elevators. Riads are old mansions in the heart of the medinas which have been converted into hotels and are a wonderful change of place for a few nights. But the stairs are steep, rooms all surround a courtyard and can be dark, and no two rooms are alike so it's really important to know which riads are the best. And English - not so much although more of the young people are learning now, a little French will get you a long way. It's a developing country and this current King is working hard to make progress in its infrastructure but oftentimes service is not up to western standards. Just know that Moroccans do not always have the same emphasis on promptness and efficiency that we do - and accept it as part of the charm of a place like Morocco.
