Rabat to Fes to Casa

Day 4 (4/18) : Rabat to Fes to Casa

Well one thing I can tell, unless you are planning to eternally wonder around the streets of medina in Fes, never ever go without a local or a guide. However, the narrow, colorful streets of the medina of Fes has a charm of its own. There is very good reason why it has retained its status as the country's cultural and spiritual centre for a very long time. It also happens to be the largest Medina of Morocco

We also visited one of the oldest schools (madrasas) and saw how students lived in old time. The "dorm rooms" were beyond interesting to say the least. Some did not have any window but all of them overlooked the courtyard. We went see one of the oldest universities of the western world which was founded by a woman ! Unfortunately we were not allowed to go inside.

Our lunch was at a fabulous riyadh and as always there was too much food and all of them were mouthwatering ! Feeling of overstuffed seems to be the new normal !

After lunch we visited 3 unique places at the Medina of Fes !!! A tannery, a pottery workshop/store and a place to see weaving and buy amazing fabrics.

I have never been to a tannery before in my life. As we walked throught the serpentine streets of the medina, our guide told us that the only way to enjoy this tannery tour would be to make sure to never remove the "mind stem" from our nostrils. It was so true !!! As soon as we got to the tannery, each of us were handed a stem of mint leaves. We walked through different parts of the tannery, saw gigantic wells of salt and color to process the leather. The products ranged from handbags to shoes, to anything and everything imaginable. Each piece more beautiful than the next one.

Moroccan weavers are equally talented. Amazing unique work and beautiful quality of fabric. 

Our final stop before heading to Casablanca was a Moroccan pottery place called "Mosaique et poterie"! It was an unbelievable experience! I wish I could buy each and every piece from there and bring back home. It was incredible to see each and every piece, intricately created by hand - absolutely no machine involved in the whole process. Each and every article created in the process is a work of art however big or small it is.

The Admire the royal palace's gate in Fes El Jedid. The Merenids built this "New City" in the 13th century, when they realized that Fes el Bali would be too small to contain their palaces.

The grand Royal Palace takes center stage here. Its 80 hectares of grounds are not open to the public, though, you can stop and admire its ornately decorated entranceway.

There's a tranquil air to this small section of the city, which sits between bustling Fes el Bali and the European-style Ville Nouvelle, and it makes a welcoming, peaceful lull between these two faster-paced worlds.

The mellah (Jewish quarter) is in the southern section of this district.