Week 458 · Fes Medina · Leather Tannery · Hammam · Dar Rafti
We got an AirBnB in Fes — whether an AirBnB or a hotel, everything is called a "Riad." Our AirBnB was great — we had the whole place to ourselves. Like everywhere in Fes — small footprint (less than 400 sq ft) with no indication on the outside what is inside, near vertical stairs over 3 floors, and a roof terrace.
Our Riad was called "Dar Rafti" and was run by a young Moroccan/Spanish couple — extremely helpful as they arranged airport pickup and return. The airport pickup was great — easy, no arguing over fare — and took us to the best gate where people with wheelbarrows are waiting to take you into the Medina through the streets to find your Riad. Again they arranged, and you didn't have to bargain. They also have a larger Riad for multiple guests called "Dar Arasama." Both are available on AirBnB or VRBO.
Many people think of Medina as a religious site — and it is in Saudi Arabia — but in Morocco, Medina simply means "old city." The Medina in Fes is 1,200 years old and is the largest car-free city in the world with over 9,000 "streets" over a square mile. Our Riad was in a relatively easy place to find and a tip we got was using the elevation for direction — uphill is away from the centre.
The medina of Fes (Fes el-Bali) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, designated in 1981, and is considered the world's largest living medieval city. Founded in 789 AD, it is one of the best-preserved medieval Islamic cities on Earth. The medina covers approximately 280 hectares and contains over 9,000 streets and alleyways — the vast majority too narrow for any motorised vehicle. The University of al-Qarawiyyin, founded in 859 AD within the medina, is widely recognised as the world's oldest continuously operating university. The Chouara Tannery — where leather has been dyed using ancient methods for over 1,000 years — remains fully operational and is the city's most photographed site. Mint is distributed to visitors at the tannery not as custom, but as a practical measure against the smell of the pigeon droppings used in the curing process.
Our hosts arranged a day tour — basically walked us through about 20,000 steps for the day into the various areas of the Medina: religious, shopping, metal smiths, leather curing, and all sorts of food. Everywhere on the outside looks like it is falling apart but inside is pristine Islamic architecture.
Highlights: mint tea tasting (quite elaborate — about 5–6 different kinds of mints and other herbs); random food items like camel heads and tongues; the leather tannery; Royal Medina Hammam; lunch in a beautiful place that you could never have found; and just the chaos of walking around without having to worry about getting lost if you have a guide. Our guide was a recent college graduate who grew up in the Medina — he knew someone at every place we went. But no pressure to buy. He did give us a hot tip that Morocco was going to do well in the World Cup.
We had three diverse dinner experiences — all good. Our first night we found a place with a roof terrace — quiet, traditional Chicken Tagine and Couscous. The second night we found a busy place with a roast chicken which was excellent, near the main gate of the old city. Because alcohol is prohibited in the Medina we had water with both dinners. But as we were leaving and walking through restaurants, a guy came up and asked "do you want wine?" At this point we had more offers for hashish than wine — so we went with the wine, which was slyly brought to our table in Coke bottles. Our last night for dinner was in a place called "The Ruined Garden" — another great meal in a very interesting place. Like eating in Tomb Raider.
Because alcohol is prohibited in the Medina, we had water with dinner. But as we were leaving and walking through restaurants, a guy came up and asked "do you want wine?" At this point we had more offers for hashish than wine — so we went with the wine.
It was slyly brought to our table in Coke bottles. Our last dinner was in "The Ruined Garden" — like eating in Tomb Raider. Our guide had given us a hot tip: Morocco was going to do well in the World Cup. He was right.
"Everywhere on the outside looks like it is falling apart — but inside is pristine Islamic architecture. Uphill is away from the centre. Our guide gave us a hot tip: Morocco was going to do well in the World Cup. He was right."