Fes
We left Marrakech and decided on a multi-day road trip to visit a few more cities before leaving Morocco. We hired a private driver (Mustafa) to take us from Marrakech to Fes, then to Chefchaouen, and finally to Rabat, and Casablanca over 3 days.
Our first stop was Fes. Our host in Marrakech arranged a private guide to show us around the old city (Medina) for the afternoon. We learned that Fes has the oldest and most complicated Medina in the world, the Fes El Bali. Without a guide we would easily have gotten lost for days and Google maps doesn’t work at all in the walled city. Hilly and narrow, the medina is vastly different from Marrakesh. It was like stepping back in time. There were no motorcycles whizzing by us, only donkeys and pedestrians which made roaming the medina much more peaceful. Fes is also home to the oldest theological university ever established in Morocco, dating back to the 14th century and founded by a wealthy woman from Tunisia.
We had an interesting tour of the largest leather tannery in Morocco. It was tucked away in the middle of the Medina where they process cow, camel, sheep and goat leathers. The smell was horrific. We were offered free sprigs of mint on our way in the building to help offset it. Thank goodness, it was bad. Apparently the smell comes from ammonia in pigeon poop which is used in large quantities to soften and remove the fur from the leather. Who knew?! The poop is expensive too, so they joke and call Chanel #6. It was interesting to see the steps involved in preparing the hides and to see the beautiful bags, jackets and other items that get created once it’s done.
Chefchaouen
We left Fes and made the 4 hour drive to Chefchaouen (pronounced chef-sh-owe-en) which is known for its blue walls throughout the city. It is also known as Morocco’s “blue pearl.” The Medina is beautiful and was much easier for us to navigate. It is a photographers dream. We were taking pictures around every corner.
Apparently, camels aren’t just for riding. In Morocco they are also for eating! We had a camel burger tonight for dinner. Camel is not served in steak form. You’ll see it served mostly as burgers or meatballs in Kefta dishes. It was slightly drier than beef, but tasted mostly the same. If you ever see it on a menu, give it a try!
We’re back on the road again tomorrow. We have two more cities to visit before we say farewell to Morocco.