Exploring the Medina!

After leaving the Riad with a hearty breakfast in our stomachs, we made our way to one of the workshops for weavers in Fes. Along the way, Hicham stopped to show us advertisements that the 34 Moroccan election parties used to garner votes. Plastered along one of the walls within the Medina laid different electoral symbols such as a tractor, bird, and faucet, similar to the elephant and donkey in the U.S, that took the place of written advertisements due to a high rate of illiteracy.

After this quick pitstop, we arrived at the weaving workshop. Once we learned that the workshop had been restored from a Caravanserai in the 14th century, the weavers taught us the process of weaving scarves and making bobbins. Everyone had a turn at weaving and even got to purchase the weavers’ own beautiful creations, including bags and scarves which were made of wool, cotton, or Moroccan silk from an Agave cactus.

We then made our way to La Terrasse de Tannerie, a merchant store inside the Medina that offered house-made jackets, purses, bags, and scarves. Within the store, we learned about the process of producing leather, or tanning. Outside on the balcony of the store, we saw vats filled with dyes, pigeon feces, limestone, and the skin from one humped camels, cows, and sheep, all essential parts of the tanning process.

Next, we exited the tanning area and headed to lunch in the Ruined Garden. On our way, we stopped by the last horn-comb shop in all of Morocco where we saw the process of carving a variety of combs from a different animals. Alongside the horn shop, we walked through Fanadiq Fez, a place where 12th-century caravans arrived exchanged goods.

Once we ate our lunch, we walked over to Dar Attajalli (@attajalli), a cooking school where we prepared our dinner for the night. We made couscous and *surprise* *surprise*, tagine from a wide assortment of ingredients ranging from fennel seeds to carrots to lamb to prunes. While our food was cook-a-looking, we went shopping throughout the Medina and explored the school’s balcony. After our exploration of the area, we ate our food together, returned to the Riad, and are now settling down and preparing for an early morning tomorrow.

Le Chat du Jour:

-Thompson and Jaque