- Date: Nov 05, 2024
- Starting Location: Fes, Morocco
- Ending Location: Fes, Morocco
- Mileage: 0Km
- Total Mileage So Far: 588 Km (365.4 Miles)
Breakfast
Today we’d be leaving the hotel at 8:30 AM, so we met for breakfast at 8:00 AM, enjoyed an Omlette, and met in the lobby to get organized for our bus trip to the Medina.
The weather
After careful consideration of all possible weather information points, it looked like it was going to be a perfect day for sightseeing. So, with hope in our hearts, and wings on our feet, we set out for the Medina.
The city tour
The king’s palace
The King’s palace is a large space, covering over 200 hectares, with tall walls containing the property. The king no longer lives here, but entering the palace, or even entering the walls is forbidden. So, we took pictures of the outside, and respected the wishes of the king.
The pottery co-op
The pottery co-op, supported by Unesco World Heritage at one time had close to 300 artisans, making special tiles, which would adorn numerous buildings across Morocco. But, we’re told that only 26 of these artisans still practice the craft.
The Medina Tour
The Rug store
Let’s take a minute to understand how our “Medina Tour” was going to work. Our guide, Mahib, who is very knowledgeable, and who speaks several languages, is also prone to encouraging us to visit all of the vendors, and buy something, whenever possible.
So, after sitting in a room with a beautiful tile floor, comfortable benches, and a nice marble floor, I was selected to walk into the next room with one of the sales guys. At the time, I thought that I might have been chosen to see something special, but that was not the case. In actual point of fact, I had been targeted as a likely rug buyer.
And so, the pitch to buy a carpet began. We spent about 15 minutes looking at carpets, and I declined all offers, but these folks are nothing, if not persistent. So, he kept “offering” different size rungs, in different colors, and after turning them all down, I began to break. I began to take charge, and they started bringing rungs that were more to my liking.
A large rug, which was likely 50 years old, and which was 3 x 4 meters was presented at $6700 USD. I certainly didn’t need a rug that size, and I didn’t want to spend that much money. But, as I said, they were starting to present rugs in a smaller size, with better colors and patterns.
With the span of another 15 minutes, I had found a rug that I loved, and he quoted it at $5300 USD. Once again, too rich for my blood, so I offered $4000, with shipping included. After discovering that shipping would cost $600 USD, we agreed to split the cost of shipping, with the final dollar amount set at $4300.
The rug is beautiful, and I’m looking forward to placing it my home.
Spices are plentiful
Throughout the Medina, you’ll find that you can buy just about anything. But, since it’s Morocco, one of the more prevalent items that seems to be in abundance, and is widely available are the spices, for which Morocco is famous. We made our way into a Pharmacy, and I was surprised to find that this Pharmacy looks at many of these spices as being homeopathic remedies. So, believe it or not, these spices are being shown on the ground floor of a pharmacy.
The pants are falling down
As noted yesterday, my riding pants were falling down my backside, and if I didn’t do something about it, I would have to ride with a great deal of discomfort and inconvenience. So, my plan was to find a tailor who was close to the Medina, and then to get a cab to the Medina, and catch up with the rest of the group. But, when I approached the front desk staff, the woman suggested that I use my guide to find a tailor, at some time during the day.
Our guide was Mahib, and when I presented the problem to him, he had an immediate solution. He said to bring my pants with me, and that we would find a tailor “somewhere in the medina”. Now, I have no idea what to expect in the Medina, so I simply accepted what he said, and went along for the ride.
Well, after purchasing a carpet, Mahib suggested that one of the guys that sold me the carpet would be able to “Take care of things”, and he’d deliver the pants to the restaurant where we were having lunch. So, I quickly was overcome with how this almost insurmountable problem became as easy as “no problem”.
So, I explained the problem with the pants, and let him do his work.
The problem with the pants is that the straps that sinch the beltline simply ran out of Velcro. The pull straps, when pulled tightly, lose contact with the Velcro. So, my proposed solution was to add more fuzzy Velcro, and hope for the best.
As lunch ended, the carpet guy showed up with the pants, and the problem was solved. I paid 200 Dinhar for the job, which was about $19 USD. It seems that that’s a great price, considering that he had to locate and purchase Velcro, then sow it into the pants, and then deliver the pants to me at the restaurant.
Boom goes the dynamite, and we’re done with another problem
Tannery Co-Op
We visited a tannery, where the leather, taken from sheep, goat, and cow. The process starts with the slaughter, and after the hides are cut from the animal, they are soaked in a series of tanks, some with pigeon shit and others with dyes. We were able to see all of this from an overhang, which was three stories above the tanning tanks.
The attached co-op store had thousands of bags ready for sale. I found a nice bag, but it was $1200 USD, so I said that I was simply not interested. It was very hard to walk away, as I tried to explain that the problem was simply that I did not want to spend that kind of money, for something that I might never use again.
The leather store
The leather store was located on the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd floors of the Medina, situation so that it overlooks the tannery. The leather products were beautiful, and I showed some interest in a large, duffle-like bag that might have been suitable to carry all of my motorcycle gear back home. But, they wanted $1200 for the bag, and so I decided not to engage in the back-and-forth negotiating that was inevitable.
Bronze store
The last store that we visited in the Medina was the store that sells brass products, and products made of other fine metals. While in the store, we found an artisan practicing his craft.
What is a Medina
During our talks today, I learned that a Medina is a city, and that city stands for progress. We learned that a Medina is not in any way related to the Muslim religion, although most Medinas are in Muslim countries. As I’ve been told, the concept is that if you gather up all of the nomadic people, who happen to be Muslims, and place them in a walled city, you will foster cooperation and progress.
And so, a Medina was a way to foster progress, and to build a sustainable life for everyone that resides within.
Lunch
Lunch was amazing. We could choose from 7 different Moroccan dishes, which also included some salads before hand, and fruit for dessert. I chose the cous-cous with lamb and enjoyed every last bite.
Dinner
After eating amazing food for breakfast and lunch, we decided to have a simple dinner at the hotel. So, after dinner and dessert, we retired to our room. Here’s a little bit of the action during dinner.
What will tomorrow bring
Th ride to Erfoud will take us to Xalupa, a 5 star resort near the Southeastern region of Morocco. When we arrive, we’ll be less than 1 hour from the infinite sands of the Sahara dessert.
