Travels on Abracadabra: Road to Morocco–Take 2: November 21

Romans – They Were In Morocco, Too!

Readers of this blog know that we will make an effort to see any Roman Leavings in our path.

We're Checking Out The Roman Leavings

Fortunately for us, the Best of Morocco tour included a visit to Volubilis, which is billed as the best preserved archaeological site in Morocco.

The site was occupied before the Romans arrived. The town was annexed into the Empire in about 40 C.E. and over the next two+ centuries became a Standard Issue Roman Town (temples, triumphal arch, central market, baths . . . ). At its height Volubilis is said to have had roughly 20,000 occupants.

Triumphal Arch

Regular Market Arches

Rome abandoned the area around 280 C.E. but the locals, a group of Syrians, Jews, Greeks and Berbers (Amazighs) were apparently still speaking Latin when the Arabs showed up at the end of the 7th century. That's leaving a lasting impression!

At Volubilis, the Empire left fabulous tile floors;

columns, of course;

and carved stones advertising market stalls and giving directions to the town brothel:

Poultry Shop Sign (Or So Archaeologists Think)

Turn Here For The Brothel (They're Pretty Sure About This One)

Fez – An Experience

Fez Vista

Fez is often billed as the spiritual and cultural heart of Morocco. We can’t say we saw or experienced much evidence of spirituality. Whether that was because our local tour guide had a commercial focus or because spirituality is not always obvious to the casual visitor, we can’t say. But Fez does have an amazing medina and some extremely talented artisans.

The medina (Fes el-Bali / Old Fez) is vast and confusing, bustling and dark – a labyrinth of blind turns and crowded, wandering alleyways. It is said to be home to more than 150,000 people and the largest car-free urban area in the world.

Home From School

The Medieval and The Modern Co-Existing

Beauty In The Medina

Shopping "Street"

Fes el-Bali's car-free status shouldn’t be interpreted as “traffic-free”. The narrow alleys are crowded with pedestrians: children and mothers, shoppers and shopkeepers and tourists from dozens of clueless cultures led by guides on a schedule. Negotiating this sea of pedestrians are hand carts, mules, donkey carts - all loaded beyond imagining and driven by men yelling “balak!” (“look out!”) to warn pedestrians to step aside to avoid being run over.

You Think Your UPS Route Is Rough . . . .

The primary mission of the Fes el-Bali tourist guide is to introduce his charges to local artisans and merchants. [Travel Tip: Touching or inspecting items - any expression of curiosity -- will spur the nearby salesman (there's always one nearby) into a frenzy of offering. Curious travelers without excellent peripheral vision and self-control -- or those who just like to touch before buying -- should establish an exit plan. Molly finally learned to smile broadly, pat the salesman on the arm, look him in the eye and say “You are an excellent salesman and I will think a lot about your offer. Maybe I’ll be back tomorrow.” Maybe that will work for you?]

Copper Cookware, Anyone?

We were delivered to a weaving cooperative where Molly was not so restrained (a lovely blue shawl of agave silk) and to Fes el-Bali's famous smelly tannery which looks like an illustration from Dante's Inferno.

Soaking Hides

They Want Red This Season!

Yellow Skins Drying In The Sun

Like Giant Paint Pots

Molly couldn't resist the Aladdin-like leather slippers (only $15 per pair!) and bought one pair in red and one in yellow. Just what every sailor needs . . . leather house slippers.

Bargain Fever

It is impossible for even a relatively small group to gather around a tour guide in the medina – there is just too much traffic – but we managed to hear that we were passing a women's hammam (traditional bath)

The Hammam Entry

and the doors of mosques and medersas (theological schools). [Travel Tip: Unlike Europe where religious buildings are major tourist attractions, mosques and operating medersas are rarely open to non-congregants. Travelers who have the opportunity to enter a mosque (via a guided tour, most likely) shouldn't pass up that chance.]

Not all of Fez’ artisans are located within the medina. We had a very interesting tour of a pottery factory where we saw pottery being made

At The Wheel

and, more uniquely Moroccan, how zellige (tile mosaic) walls and table tops are put together. The intricate mosaic designs of zellige are made from pieces (stars, diamonds, triangles, etc.) painstakingly chipped from glazed tile squares.

Each Piece Chipped From a Glazed
Tile Square By Hand

The pieces are then placed into the desired design - upside down. They whole design is then sealed into place -- revealed only when the design is - carefully - turned over. Now that requires concentration.

A Good Memory For Patterns and Colors Is A
"Core Competency" For A Zellige Maker

Poterie de Fes was our purchasing downfall – even without persistent salesmen we bought several beautiful serving dishes (which we proceeded to haul through the rest of Morocco!). Someday we will get them out of our storage locker and show them off.

Despite all the amount of shopping our tour guide included in the day, we managed a few moments of Taking It All In:

At A Moroccan Wedding The Gift Box
Is As Important As The Gift!

Storks Hangin' Out

Fez left us exhausted, exhilarated and wondering how we might have learned more about the city and its non-sales force inhabitants. The city's medina is so full of history unconsciously incorporated into daily life. It's so full not only of salesmen and touts but of people, donkeys, mules and cart drivers stoically accommodating tourists and guides snaking through their day and past their homes. It is so full of difference. Perhaps the best a short-term visitor can hope for is have an experience.

And that's what we had in Fez. We were there, among it all.

Journey To The Sahara

Our next day was a long travel day. We passed a lot of sheep:

Sheep On The Hoof

Sheep On -- And In! -- The Van

And, fortunately the day included several stops, including one of our favorite Morocco experiences:

We stopped for a coffee (Bryce never did take to the omnipresent mint tea) in Ifrane, a town so green and European looking that tourist literature sometimes refers to it as “the Switzerland of Morocco".

Well, not quite.

After our initial reaction (that Ifrane was disappointingly not Moroccan) we realized it reminded us of a highland area outside of Jakarta, Indonesia where ex-patriots and wealthy Javanese go to experience what passes for cool weather in Java. Ifrane is actually very Moroccan -- it's where modern, wealthy Moroccans go for a cool weekend getaway.

There was a stop to see a group of Barbary Macaques (Barbary Apes):

Sorry to sound like primate snobs, but we’re not usually impressed by non-human primates (in Central America howler monkeys are our alarm clock) and we saw a gaggle of Barbary Macaques on Gibraltar. That said, it was a chance to stretch a bit of the van ride from our backs and bums.

Our next stop was one of our favorite experiences of the tour. We stopped at a weekly market, a collection of open-air market "stalls" (canvas strung between poles) piled high with goods brought in on a variety of sketchy transports; farmers buying and selling animals and grain; friends greeting friends; families shopping for a special-event outfit or a piece of furniture; everyone looking for the best bargain . . . and a man so amused by our wretched French that he gave us a good deal on mandarin oranges. This market was so much like those we have visited in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and other places that we felt at home.