Fes (Fez) was founded in the 8th century and walking through the medieval walls of the Medina and 9,000+ streets discovering the mosques, museums, squares and souks is an experience. It is like walking through some ancient old ruins, except people still live and work here!
The day included a visit to the Jewish Quarter (Mellah), next to one of the royal palaces and a visit to a traditional pottery factory. We then stopped to enjoy some delicious Moroccan food – did not like everything – but, gave everything a try, including the local olives.
Went back into the maze of the Old City to see the dye vats of the medieval tanneries. It was amazing to see all the huge vats filled with the different colors of dye and to watch the barefoot workers pick up the skins with their feet and work them manually. According to the guide book this job pays fairly well – I certainly hope so, because in addition to the hard work, the smell of the decaying animal flesh was overpowering, even from my vantage point on the balcony high above.
Took advantage of the clear skies and went up to get a birds eye view of the Old and New Towns of Fes before calling it a day.
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