Fez

You know, thinking about it now I'm not sure we ever saw anyone wearing a fez in Fez. They were certainly for sale, but maybe only for silly tourists? 

Our first night in Fez was simple and relaxing, a much-needed reprieve after the hectic and stressful day. We ate an excellent dinner at a restaurant just a couple of minutes away from our hostel, and then took mint teas near the medina gates and watched the incredible variety of people making their way to and from the market. Also, got a lecture from a Moroccan gentleman seated next to us about how women can't be doctors, as it's too disgusting for them. They can, however, be nurses, you'll be pleased to know. That was a fun conversation. 

In the morning, we went out on a medina tour, with a nice lady sent to us by a guy we met on the train. She was great, and took us all around the medina, showing us lots of stuff we'd never have found on our own and keeping us from being hopelessly lost at every turn. The medina is a whirling mess of sights and sounds, people and animals, and more merchandise (and touts!) than you can really believe. It's a fascinating place. 

One of the medina gates. It's essentially impossible to get a picture without a bunch of people visible; even the postcards have people in them!

The narrow streets of the medina - good for lots of shade, so it's actually quite cool!

There are no cars in the medina (the streets are too narrow for them most of the time anyway) so people use donkeys to transport goods. A shout of "balak! balak!" was often our only warning of a loaded donkey - sometimes with cart - bearing down on us. 

The river, separating the Tunisian part of Fez from the Andalusian. 

Doors to a medersa, which is an Islamic school. It seems to usually be open to the public, but we weren't able to enter as students were writing exams. 

Inside of another medersa. 

The tanneries were quite a sight! We were repeatedly warned of the smell, but it wasn't actually terrible. The whole process was explained, and then we were guided through miles of leather shops...

Jesse got a turban tutorial at a textiles shop. He assures me he isn't nearly as annoyed as he looks in the picture. 

We had lunch at a little place our guide took us to. They took us into the kitchen to taste everything before we picked our meal. The tagine was great, but the best part was the sauces they gave us with the bread. The small, yellowish dish just above my tagine was some kind of carmelized onion, and I could have eaten it with every meal. 

The carpet shop was in the restored home of a famous Islamic poet and scholar. It had some beautiful tile work all around. 

These men are going to try and sell us some carpets momentarily. When that fails, they'll try to convince to start a carpet-importing business. That didn't go so well either. 

The tour finished in the late afternoon, and we relaxed in the hostel for a bit before going for a walk up to a viewpoint over the city. 

Nearly all of that is the medina - enclosed in walls and carless!

Dinner that night was also a local restaurant:

$10 worth of tagine and salad for dinner... Paint me blissfully happy. Although I made the mistake of ordering the mixed salad instead of the Moroccan salad - pro-tip: the Moroccan salad is much better. 

We spent one more day in Fez, but we took it pretty easy and didn't venture too far. We had dinner at the famous Clock Cafe (I forgot to take a picture, but can report that camel is delicious!) and relaxed at the hostel for a while. In the morning, it was time for a train for Marrakech, so we went to bed early and, with the help of a sleepmask and earplugs, woke up rested and ready for the next leg.