Fes (day 5)

After breakfast we got into the bus and drove to one of the three royal palaces here in Fes. This royal palace is the biggest of three, but is only used for official visits. At this palace we got out of the bus to take a picture of the gate, after that we walked to the Jewish quarter of the medina where we saw a few synagogues.

After that we walked back to the bus, to go to a panoramic view on top of a small mountain. From here you had a majestic view over the medina, which by the way is the biggest old city in the world (not the oldest city). At this viewpoint there's also an Islamic cemetery. Next we walked back to the bus to go to a restaurant for a coffee break. Here one of our fellow travelers didn't feel so well (stomach flu) and her travel companion has a sore throat (she's wearing a face mask today). Another fellow traveler is feeling dizzy and even our (Dutch speaking) guide is having some issues (one hand turned red, the other yellow and his stomach is feeling painful, later on he went to visit a doctor). Summarized: the infirmary is getting pretty full at once, hopefully it doesn't get any worse than this! We continue our holiday in good spirit (luckily we have a local English-speaking guide who takes over the tasks of our own guide). After the coffee break we walked through the medina, to the oldest university in the world. The notable thing about this is that the university was founded by a woman. After that we continued our way through the medina passed all kind of handcrafts. From fabric painting and copper smiths to carpenters. Also, there are a lot of small shops (of which most of them are closed today, because today is Friday, the holy day for Muslims). Eventually we ended up at a restaurant via very narrow alley ways (which are not broader than shoulder width) where we had lunch. At this point our guide had an appointment at the doctor and left us as mentioned earlier. After the delicious lunch we continued with the local guide through the medina passing all the shopping streets narrow alley ways and former caravan hotels (merchants used to travel by camel from place to place to trade or for a stopover). These caravan hotels are currently museums, restaurants or shops. Eventually we arrived at the tannery, where this ancient craft is passed on from one generation to the next generation for centuries, and we could see how it's done. After this we walked through the shop of the tannery where I bought a belt (the current one really needed replacement) :) Finally we went to the weaver, where they make fabrics out of agave fibers. After that we walked back to the bus to drive back to the hotel. When we arrived at the hotel we had some hours off, that's why the blog is published so early today! In a moment we will have dinner and have a relaxing evening... Tomorrow we will drive to Erfout, which will take all day. That's going tot be a long seat!

Day 4

Travel overview

Day 6