Fez

In Fez, we had a local guide who took us to see the King’s Palace (from the outside only),

the fort overlooking the city,

a pottery works where many of our group bought intricately designed tajines,

 

and a leather shop



overlooking a tannery.

We were given mint sprigs to soften the smell, although I don’t believe the mint was intended to be inserted into your nose.

The sheep skins on the side of the road, left over from the sacrificing holiday, didn’t smell too good either.

The carpet/silk shop had good views over the city

and chickens were walking around the satellite dishes on the roof.

A few of us dressed up in traditional gear

and I videoed a man showing me how to tie my newly acquired Saharan headscarf, which will come in handy in the desert.

We wandered around the medina, hearing cries of ‘Barak!’ or ‘Attention!’, which typically means a donkey with a heavy load is coming through and you need to get out of the way pretty quickly.

We also visited many street stalls

and by the end of the day were all shopped out, though I found this top quite amusing as I think it was most likely meant to say ‘Queen’.

It was impossible not to get lost in the medina when a few of us went off without the guide. Luckily the locals are very friendly and happy to point you in the right direction – more often than not for a few dirhams. When asking a local where the toilets were, he ended up taking us to his house! He also led us on the right path to a restaurant where we met up again with the rest of our group. Aside from a nice 4 (or more) course meal, some of our group were dressed up in traditional gear and lifted in the air,

some of the men were given a close-up shake from a belly dancer, and some had to get up and dance themselves.