Untangling the Fès Medina
Most of today we continued exploring the fascinating Fès Medina. Note: I am now spelling Fès the Moroccan way.
Once again, we had a guide arranged by Audley Travel who helped us navigate this 690-700-acre maze. We have at least learned what kind of sign (hexagon) means the alley-street is a dead end.
Today is the first day we really ran into large groups of tourists. Partly because we were visiting a few of the iconic historical Muslim sites within the Medina, such as the oldest university, School of Koranic studies, and mosques.
Shopping the Souks
It was a cool, clear day, perfect for some targeting shopping. We explored shops with silver teapots, jewelry, textiles, and antiques. Our husbands may be happy to know we didn’t buy anything of significance. But, be forewarned, we are now very educated for our upcoming visit to Marrakesh.
BTW, a souk is an open-air marketplace, often organized by category of product, and usually within a Medina.
Across from the old University, we got to see an incredible centuries-old home that once housed the school’s faculty and their families. Today it has been repurposed as a beautiful multi-floor, multi-room shop with carpets and antiques. Even though we are carpet-averse, our guide said there would be no pressure – and he was spot-on. We had a delightful presentation about the carpets made by the seven families that supplied the shop, many of them Berber. It was really interesting.
After a light lunch on a terrace overlooking the city and Medina, we headed back to our beautiful Riad Maison Bleue. After the repacking needed for our early morning departure, we made one last visit into the Medina.
It proved easy to arrange an escort to get us to the right place. In this case, the Ruined Garden (cash only) deep in the Medina, for a light dinner. We loved the cats who had the run of the place and the instructions not to feed them, because the staff would. We got another escort for a very energetic walk back.
Otherwise, we’d likely still be wandering ….
It is a beautiful place with such gorgeous colors and patterns. I didn’t see any women out and about. Need to hear more about that. And the rugs!