Spain Portugal Morocco: Fez (1)
6:03 PM
We were warned so much about Morocco (from the low standards of hygiene to the immigration beauracracy) from our guide that it almost became like nagging, but on the day we embarked from Seville to Morocco, I began to realize how true everything the guide said was. It was the start of the long drives as we had to navigate the mountainous national roads, and wait restlessly in the bus while our passports got stamped by a hopefully pleasant moroccan immigration officer. To get to Morocco, we had to take a ferry (about an hour long) across the straits of Gibraltar to Ceuta, a disputed territory between Spain and Morocco. Then from there cross the border over to Morocco proper.... we had to wait for about half an hour in the bus for our passports and during then, I was sitting by the window and got the opportunity to look over at the cars attempting to enter Ceuta and Europe/Spain in the process. It was like a nightmare traffic jam, with many drivers actually pushing their cars across to the immigration office manually. The scene below reminded me alot of malaysia and the causeway jam, and I remarked so to Simon and Shirley, the Singaporean couple on the bus. Simon thought that it looked worse though.
After passing through immigration, made a rest stop at a cafe where I got to try some Moroccan snacks. I call it the Moroccan roti prata, but they eat it with honey instead of curry like we do back home. Had it along with mint tea... a common Moroccan drink.
View of the Moroccan countryside as we drove towards Fez.
The 4 star hotel that we were scheduled to stay in was full, so Cosmos booked us at this 5 star hotel instead, Parc Palace. But honestly, 5 star my ass... It had the worst breakfast and dinner throughout the entire trip, and no hot water for showers!!!!!!!
The next morning, we had our walking tour of the Medina. When they say Medina in Morocco, they are referring to the "old town". Before doing so however, we stopped by the Royal Palace for a picture stop. The walls surrounding the palace are quite impressive. One thing that struck me is that the walls had holes in them made on purpose to let the walls "breathe"
Picture of me and our local guide who had grown up in the medina in Fez.
Walking through the streets of the Medina was such an experience. It was really like travelling back in time, like everyone has said. Walking through stalls of spices, which smell suspiciously like home.... Assam.... cumin.... it was like "smell smell and smell!"
Growing up, I always thought that I had seen the worst of the wet markets, as I still remember going to the wet markets with my mom and watch butchers chop meat up, fishmongers scaling the fish, and all the muddy dirty water that used to flow through the drains of the markets... But in Fez, it was a whole new scale... I literally saw fresh chickens being plucked and slaughtered on the spot, goats heads being displayed for all to see, the meat all freshly read and bloody.... I was fascinated and yet a little horrified at the same time. I wonder if anyone can understand what I'm trying to express here.... The meats were just cut and displayed for every passing customer... no modern fridges or ice packs..... and this was when I finally understod the hygiene warnings and silently thank god for my Asian stomach :P
A local holding live chickens in his hand by the legs...
Further on in the medina, you see people selling various local trinklets and we passed by the dye corridor when rows and rows of jackets were hung up on walls to dry above the dye buckets below. Bear in mind that the alleyways of these medina were all very narrow... so we were always walking shoulder to shoulder and having to be very mindful of all the business activity that was going on among us!
In the Medina donkeys and mules are the main forms of transport and with the alleyways already being very narrow, donkeys naturally have right of way here, so when we heard cries of "balack balack!" that was the signal to stay clear or sometimes flatten myself to the side of the wall so that the donkey and its heavy load could pass.
A school in the middle of the medina. Bottom left picture shows windows that were 90% covered up and were there for women to peer out of windows and look at the world while relatively unseen by the outside world. Poor women...
The window below with a padlock has a tradition. If any women in Fez has a problem or an issue, she puts a padlock on the window and only takes it off when the problem has been resolved. The local council actually order the locks to be taken off periodically, but locals still come back and put locks on this window when they have a problem...
After passing through immigration, made a rest stop at a cafe where I got to try some Moroccan snacks. I call it the Moroccan roti prata, but they eat it with honey instead of curry like we do back home. Had it along with mint tea... a common Moroccan drink.
View of the Moroccan countryside as we drove towards Fez.
The 4 star hotel that we were scheduled to stay in was full, so Cosmos booked us at this 5 star hotel instead, Parc Palace. But honestly, 5 star my ass... It had the worst breakfast and dinner throughout the entire trip, and no hot water for showers!!!!!!!
The next morning, we had our walking tour of the Medina. When they say Medina in Morocco, they are referring to the "old town". Before doing so however, we stopped by the Royal Palace for a picture stop. The walls surrounding the palace are quite impressive. One thing that struck me is that the walls had holes in them made on purpose to let the walls "breathe"
Picture of me and our local guide who had grown up in the medina in Fez.
Walking through the streets of the Medina was such an experience. It was really like travelling back in time, like everyone has said. Walking through stalls of spices, which smell suspiciously like home.... Assam.... cumin.... it was like "smell smell and smell!"
Growing up, I always thought that I had seen the worst of the wet markets, as I still remember going to the wet markets with my mom and watch butchers chop meat up, fishmongers scaling the fish, and all the muddy dirty water that used to flow through the drains of the markets... But in Fez, it was a whole new scale... I literally saw fresh chickens being plucked and slaughtered on the spot, goats heads being displayed for all to see, the meat all freshly read and bloody.... I was fascinated and yet a little horrified at the same time. I wonder if anyone can understand what I'm trying to express here.... The meats were just cut and displayed for every passing customer... no modern fridges or ice packs..... and this was when I finally understod the hygiene warnings and silently thank god for my Asian stomach :P
A local holding live chickens in his hand by the legs...
Further on in the medina, you see people selling various local trinklets and we passed by the dye corridor when rows and rows of jackets were hung up on walls to dry above the dye buckets below. Bear in mind that the alleyways of these medina were all very narrow... so we were always walking shoulder to shoulder and having to be very mindful of all the business activity that was going on among us!
In the Medina donkeys and mules are the main forms of transport and with the alleyways already being very narrow, donkeys naturally have right of way here, so when we heard cries of "balack balack!" that was the signal to stay clear or sometimes flatten myself to the side of the wall so that the donkey and its heavy load could pass.
A school in the middle of the medina. Bottom left picture shows windows that were 90% covered up and were there for women to peer out of windows and look at the world while relatively unseen by the outside world. Poor women...
The window below with a padlock has a tradition. If any women in Fez has a problem or an issue, she puts a padlock on the window and only takes it off when the problem has been resolved. The local council actually order the locks to be taken off periodically, but locals still come back and put locks on this window when they have a problem...
