Scribbler in Seville

Five Days in Fez

fionafloreswatson Children, Culture and Customs, Family, Food, Food and Drink, Morocco
mosque, fez, fes, morocco Al-Karaouine Mosque and (the world’s oldest) University, founded by a woman in the ninth century.
Picnic on the roof terrace of our Air BnB apartment in the Medina (technically shared, but no one else ever used it).
The view from the roof terrace of our apartment – a leather tannery (not exactly pretty, but real life), the ancient city walls, and Bab Boujloud (the Blue Gate).

The beautiful minaret of Madrasa Bou Inania, seen here from the college’s courtyard, was one of the seven visible from our apartment’s roof terrace.
Madrasa Bou Inania courtyard, with carved plaster arches, mashrabiyyas (cedar wood lattice screens), and zellij tiles inscribed with Arabic.
Waiting not-too-patiently for Mum to finish gazing in awe at the courtyard.
A week has now passed since we returned from our family Easter week trip to Morocco, and my mind keeps drifting back to Fez, and the magical moment of the evening call to prayer (there are five daily), chanting voices heard from our roof terrace in the Medina of Fez, especially against a rose-pink sky.
I keep thinking how the city reminded me so strongly of Seville, with its elaborate stucco arches and Arabic script, but especially its colourful ceramic tiles; yet in other ways it was so utterly foreign, most notably in the animal body parts displayed in the market (veggies beware).
So what do the two cities have in common historically? Both were ruled by Muslim Berber dynasties from Morocco: the Almoravids and then the Almohads had an empire embracing Al-Andaluz – Seville was the Almohad capital for nearly a century – and the Mahgreb – north-west Africa – for two centuries. When the Catholic Monarchs finally conquered Spain’s Moorish rulers in the late 15th century, Boabdil, the last Nasrid ruler of Granada – the final Andalucian city to fall to Christian forces – chose to eke out the rest of his life in Fez.
Seville, Sevilla, Giralda The Giralda, the belltower of Seville cathedral, was originally a minaret.
Puerta del Perdon in Seville, formerly entrance to the mosque.
As a former Islamic city, Seville retains breathtaking monuments celebrating this heritage – the Giralda was originally a minaret, the Puerta del Perdón of the cathedral was the mosque entrance, the Torre del Oro was a defensive tower, and the orange tree courtyards of both the cathedral and Salvador church were where muslims washed before praying.

With this in mind, and my work both as a city guide, and writing about my adoptive city’s monuments, it was phenomenally exciting to get the other side of the story, so to speak. This wasn’t my first visit to Morocco – three years ago, I had my first-ever African adventure – a brief visit to Tangiers. The port city is only an hour by boat from the Andalucian town of Tarifa , so you can even make a day trip. But this was the first time my children had travelled outside Europe, so going to Africa – another easy journey, just an hour by plane – was something of an eye-opener for them.

Fez is said by many to be one of the most authentic cities in Morocco – not geared towards the taste of Western tourists, with boho-glam boutiques and oh-so-chic riads, it has remained largely the same for centuries. Recent restoration work has left buildings such as the Al-Kairaouine (or Al Qarawiyyin) mosque, also the oldest university in the world, founded by Fatima Al-Fihri in 859, and the 14th-century Islamic college Madrasa Bou Inania, looking resplendent.

Asma leads us through the market.
Fez, Fes, Morocco Perfect cones of spices in the market. I bought “saffron” and ras-al-hanout.
Our Air BnB apartment was in the heart of the action, just off Talaa Sghira (small hill), which runs parallel to the medina’s main street, Talaa Tabira (big hill). The market was a scene of constant activity, with food stalls selling fresh fruit and veg, spices, dried fruits and meat (as a non meat-eater, I found the identifiable animal parts hard to cope with).
leather, market, Fez. Fes, Morocco A leather bag in the market – it is dyed a few blocks away at the tannery.
Craft stalls selling locally-made leather pouffes, bags and shoes, ceramics (again similar to Andalucia’s), brass lamps, musical instruments and, of course, rugs. A maelstrom which we found a little overwhelming on the first day, but gradually became accustomed to, until we started to remember which stalls we particularly liked, and wanted to return to. It’s a vast area – the largest car-free area in the world, in fact.
The Moroccan people we met while buying things – including plenty of hard bartering – were unfailing helpful and polite, a real delight to talk to, whether in English or our very rusty French. We lucked out with our Air BnB owner, Ali, who was full of smiles and did his best to address problems in our apartment (with good will, if not always success). All restaurant owners were warm and welcoming and we particularly enjoyed the Clock Café. I over-ordered and they packed up what was left of our mezze into a takeaway box for lunch on our roof terrace the next day.
Making fine sheets of warka, like filo pastry. It´s used for innumerable sweet and savoury dishes.

On our first morning, we did a market tasting tour with Plan-It Morocco, a highly professional Fez-based company run by two women, one British and one Australian. Our guide, Asmae, was fun and informative, and introduced us to Moroccan food by explaining its history and influences: the Berbers (the indigenous people of the Mahgreb) used dates to sweeten chicken and other meat; the Arabs (from the Middle East) brought spices and dried fruit; the Jews brought pastilla (see below), citrus fruit, olives and salt; and the French brought coffee and wine (note: the latter is only available in high-end hotels and restaurants).

Asmae told us all about the significance of different foods, the cultural-social details which I love: how warka pastry (very thin, like filo) is used for innumerable dishes, notably pastilla, the Fessi speciality, made with lamb, chicken or pigeon, plus nuts, herbs and spices; which sort of dates are best; which dish is made to express love; and which types of honey are best for curing which ailments.

Making bread in the communal oven. Each area also has a mosque, market and hammam (public bath).
Tasting honey, which is considered a medicine in Morocco as it is said to cure many ailments.

We tasted bread, dates, cheese, and eight different types of honey – lavender was, and always has been, my favourite (good for stress, apparently); but coriander, a new variety, was interesting (fresh and herby).

tea, mint tea, medina, fez, fes, morocco Abdullah’s tea stall was a favourite stop on our market tour.
Hot water is added to release the flavour of the mint and other herbs, then sugar is added and dissolved on the stove.
Moroccan people were welcoming and friendly, and our kids loved their experience.

 

She took us around most of the market, and our favourite stop was Abdullah’s tea stall. There’s nothing quite as refreshing or healthy as a mint tea – his used a special combination of fresh herbs, with a contraption which spewed out hot water to release those delicious aromas.

This tour is a great idea for everyone from foodies to families like us who want an introduction to local foods. Asmae was a delightful guide, knowledgeable but also engaging with the kids, and offering us the opportunity to meet Fessis from the bread-maker to the fire-stoker and the cheese-seller.

Jnane Sbil garden is a peaceful place for a walk – the open spaces offer a perfect antidote to the Medina’s narrow, busy streets.

On subsequent days, we managed to navigate our way back to where she had taken us, using the traveller’s magic mix of instinct and luck (Google maps is no use here), visiting the famous leather tanneries and dying yards.

Old water wheel in Fes el-Jdid (meaning new Fez).

We also ventured another part of the city, El Jdid, trying to find the Mellah (Jewish quarter), where we got spectacularly lost and ended up walking along a dual carriageway for half an hour to get home. More successful was the visit to Jnan Sbil garden, very close to Bab Boujloud: beautifully manicured with immaculate fountains, bridges, and flower beds; it even had a waterwheel.

Tara on the courtyard balcony of her restored dar, a traditional 450-year old house in the Medina.
Moroccan nibbles prepared by culinary guide, writer and teacher Tara Stevens.
An expected pleasure – crisp, dry gris wine from Meknes. Alcohol is not freely available in Morocco, only from high-end tourist hotels and Carrefour supermarket!).

We were lucky enough to visit the restored dar (traditional house with courtyard) of English writer, culinary guide and cookery teacher, Tara Stevens. We sat on her roof terrace at sunset and drank excellent Moroccan wine called gris, ate her delicious snacks including a pate made from green and black olives and figs, and listened to the call to prayer. Tara offers cooking classes, where you go to the market to buy ingredients, cook back at her house, and then enjoy your meal in her courtyard, or up on the roof. You can also stay at Tara’s house, Dar Namir.

Lola enjoys a mint lemonade in  a cafe.

I’m not confident that I could reproduce her moreish nibbles, but I will use her lemonade recipe – my picky daughter couldn’t get enough of it. So many new flavours and experiences in Fez. We can’t wait to discover more of Morocco.

Five quick tips for a visit to Fez

  1. The little red “Petit Taxis” which you’ll see everywhere only take three passengers (we managed to convince one to take our family of four) and don’t have seatbelts; the minivan we took didn’t either, and its sliding door kept opening. The white taxis have seatbelts, but are harder to find. Most drivers ignore the white line in the middle of the road.
  2. The calls to prayer are 5am, 8am, 1.30pm, 5pm and 8pm. Remember to close your window at night if you don’t want to be woken up early in the morning.
  3. It’s useful if you can speak some French – many market sellers speak English, but waiters and taxi drivers don’t always.
  4. If you’re with picky-eating children, don’t worry: you can find reliable favourites like pasta and pizza.
  5. Use your common sense when dressing – skimpy tops and micro-shorts are best avoided (yes, we saw some women dressed like this). If in doubt, take a scarf to cover inadvertent cleavage flashes.
, , , , , , , , ,

2 thoughts on “Five Days in Fez”

  1. Barry O Leary

    Hey Fiona,

    Great post. I did a tour round Morocco a few years back and Fez was one of favourite places. Also liked chefchaowen, or whatever it’s called.

    Such great photos, would love to go back with my kids when they are a bit older.

    Looking forward to the next blog.

    Thanks

    Barry