Wandering around the city of Fez, Morocco. The tour had us stay in Fez for the day, staying in the Hotel Mounia for two nights. The bus took us around to the sights, markets, dying, leather works, scarves, etc.
.
A gate to the KasbahTourists and the usual cats!Soldiers with nothing to do, nationwide!Downtown FezHe asked for money but I was advised to not give him any.Stall in the market.Soaps come in big jugs!Other soap you get by the pound?Typical door.That seat has seen better days.Another gate.Mint for tea.City of Fez from a hill.Above shows our guide and a fence. A man had climbed up the very steep slope on the other side of the fence as he was not allowed to be on the property. He was peddling some things, including the skullcap I purchased (below).Walking down the alleys in the city. An alley is called a Dar here, people live here (front door on the right)! No severely overweight people, or piano’s as the alley is less than 3 feet wide! The market at Fez El BaliThey serve mint tea so hot you have to have napkin to protect your fingers. The bread is about 2 inches thicker than pita. You cannot open it and it is so chewable it takes forever to chew, best to have a small ripped off slice.Figs!Olives of all kinds.Care for some meat from a camel? I almost hit my head on this camel head they use for advertising!The cats are well fed, no dogs around though.This is a stove they use to bake our thick “pancakes” for breakfast. The charcoal in the steel pot (or gas in this case) heats the ceramic dome. The cook places the dough on the top to cook!Person dying cloth, right there! You could give him a piece of white cloth and come away with a purple one.Woman washing cloth before it is dyed.Horse bring in wares.Man with skull cap and woman with shawl shopping.Perfumes and oils.Mannequin with common dress-up dress.Ancient school, the kids were housed in tiny rooms in a school where they teach the Quar’an.Bride shop, the bride selects 4 girls and 4 guys to be in the wedding party. The four guys carry her in the white and pink litter!Door to a Mosque (we were not let in). The upper floor over the leather shop.Outside area where hides and cloth have been tanned and dyed for hundreds of years.Man dying a hide.Tourists!Area (miles away) where red dyed leather is dried, it takes weeks in the sun.Inside the leather shop. They told us that we could select a style of leather jacket and color and it would be delivered to our hotel in a day or two.Donkey bring in wares, feed in the yellow bucket.Outside alley.Displaying the fiber that comes out of the cactus!The ancient loom.Man working on the loom.Scarf made here to be used by us on our camel ride in the desert.Scarves of all colors.Some of our group.New scarves all around.Our whole group.On to M’haya, sheep everywhere.Lunch at the AFER (Association of Rural Women and Children) home in M’haya, Morocco. A nonprofit whose purpose is to improve the quality of life in rural areas and to maintain it thru sustainable local development such as courses and training. My name (John) written in Arabic, Abdella gave us a lesson!The standard Moroccan bathroomYou use your left hand to wash your butt, thus you do not shake hands or eat with your left hand. Water faucet to wash.
