Fes is the world's largest medina, and it's a good thing I had a guide and two travel buddies to navigate it. Besides being a befuddling maze, it's completely fascinating, and needs to be on any must-see-before-you-die list.
At the Fes hostel last night I met, besides Nancy, another Australian, a Hong Konger, a Frenchman and a Croatian couple. We spent the evening together, and this morning, the Europeans took one guide together whilst Rob (the other Australian) joined Nancy and I and our guide, Hussein.
Hussein showed us the Royal Palace and the Jewish Quarter before plunging into the medina proper. From there, it was a procession of medersas, mosques, shops, and the (in)famous tanneries, which don't actually smell as bad as you might imagine.
There's a lot that distinguishes Fes from the other Moroccan medinas; no cars or bikes, so less noise but more horses and mules; much narrower streets and more steps; less tourists, bigger crowds of locals (about 300,000 residents); less dust (countryside is comparatively lush); more nice - though small - squares, some even with trees; and more of the five original medina services remain intact - hammam, mosque, medersa, fountain and bread oven.
There was a lot of shopping - mostly by Nancy, who is an impressive bargainer. Actually it was good being with two older travellers - the shopkeepers focused on them and completely ignored me, as I preferred.
Midway through our medina wandering, we were dropped off by Hussein for lunch at a gorgeous restaurant. Our tajines were expensive, but they came with an entree of fourteen different vegetable hors d'oeuvres and a fruit platter included in the price. I doubt I'll have a better meal on this whole trip.
Fes is completely remarkable. Go see it.
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