Fes Things to Do

Expect to be surrounded by people, merchandise, rubbish, noise and the occassional donkey weaving its way through the crowd. Beware of the donkey as they suddenly appear, heavily laden and usually without a sound.

Expect the unusual as most travellers will come from a vastly different culture and economy. This is a third world experience, and although they have some of the benefits of the 20th century, electricity, communications etc the medina remains very similar to how it operated hundreds of years ago.

Many people wish to experience living within the medina, it certainly would be an experience in a lifetime. I understand there is plenty of accommodation available and as we walked through the medina we sighted several signs.

As we were on a 13 day tour our accommodation was arranged by the tour company 10 minutes drive from the Medina. Phone numbers:

Dar Bouananir 055 63 72 82
Pension Kawtar 035 7401 72

2 more images

Medersa means a theological school or college of Islam. This Medersa is located near Bab Bou Jeloud, one of most crowded lanes in Fes Medina.
It was built in 1350 by Merenid Sultan. The wood work and ornamentation is perfectly made, in green, white and braun color. Opposite the entrance door is the prayer hall and on the right the Minaret.

When in the medina be aware that donkeys will regularly be making their way through the crowds along the narrow streets. They have been used to transport heavy loads for hundreds of years and it will continue this way in the Medina due to the narrow lanes and streets which are not wide enough for modern day transport.

The donkey does a magnificent job, but be aware where you walk and do not be surprised if one brushes against you.

Somehow you may be interested in knowing about the leather dyeing industry in Fez.
Ask any one in Medina and they will be glad to show you where to go & contact their relative for a commission sales tour.
Its totally worth it & they will not be hesistate to give you a free tour of the plant & explain everything. Then, you just have to attend the sales semina of leather goods like shoes, lugguage & everything leather.
Haggle your price with the merchants is another entertainment. You can easily spend one hour in this leather shop but in return, you would learn a lot from that !

2 more images

Karaouiyine Mosque is the first University in Fez founded 857 A.D. , now thousands pray inside the mosque & non-Muslims aren't allowed inside . I did not make that up cause I took a picture of that sign on the door ....I guess I will never really understand but I think its because its an Islamic mosque. One needs to understand the religion in order to truly appreciate the greatness of the mosque. I would say its a archeological gem & a building that can move people 's spirits ... You need to see when they pray inside, feel the power of their prayer :)

For a first-time visitor, Fes can be be hard to navigate as the Old Town is a true maze of alleys in which even locals get lost from time to time, so here are some basic orientation tips. The two main streets -parallel-running- are the Rue Talaa Khebira (starting at the Bab el Mahrouk) and Rue Talla Seghira (starting at the Place Bou Jeloud). If you folow them east, you will sooner or later see the Karaouyine Mosque. Around this mosque, you find the most interesting souks. Even if you get lost here, you will find your way back to the mosque and from there back to the two main streets.

It does help to get an official guide who takes you through the Medina for the first time to get a basic impression of the layout of the city (3 hours ca. 250-300 Dirham). There are theme-based tourist itineraries marked by different-coloured stars which also help you orientate, too. Finally try to memorize your way from your accomodation to the nearest city gate - these are easiest to find, and from there you can retrace your steps.

1 more image

If you want to get out of the big cities for a bit, I'd highly recommend a weekend of trekking around the Middle Atlas mountains - there's this town called Itzer, between Midelt and Azrou, that's surrounded by plateaus, a volcano, and the beginnings of the high Atlas mountains. We happened upon this great Association in Itzer that uses the profits from its trekking weekend trips to fund humanitarian and development projects in the area. They also weave natural, traditional Berber carpets and other crafts. They have a pretty helpful website too: www.afcmaroc.org.

Have fun!