I much prefer Fez to Marrakech for several reasons. 1) I do not constantly feel that death by donkey and/or crazed motorcyclist is imminent. 2) The shop keepers are much nicer here 3) The city itself! All of Morocco, to me, seems a very strange mix of past and present, and nowhere is this more apparent to me than in Fez. In the medina, you often feel as though you have stepped back in time as you wander through increasingly narrow streets with buildings leaning precariously on all sides (indeed, the general philosophy of Fez, as I have taken to calling it, seems to be "prop and pray" when it comes to the aging structures of the medina). Truly were it not for the locals talking away on cell phones and tourists with enormous cameras, one could almost be in the Middle Ages. That, at least, is what I have taken to imagining. Then, just a short (hair- raising, death- defying) taxi ride away, you are confronted with all the grit and grind of the glaringly modern Ville Nouvelle. Although I haven't managed to capture it on my camera yet, I hope you will take my word for it that there are few stranger sights than that of a woman covered head to toe by the veil and layers of fabric zooming by you on a motorcycle.
Just inside Bab Barjeloud, one of the main gates dividing the old city from the new, there is a wonderful little place called Café Clock. Owned by an older British gentleman and housed inside what was a water clock tower back in the 14th (I could be wrong on that date) century, Café Clock is a wonderful refuge from the hustle and bustle of the streets. Too bad you have to get there by going through a small meat market! Wow, it is almost enough to make the most ardent meat lover turn vegetarian. Today, I turned away just in time to avoid seeing a chicken get its head cut off! It nearly, but not quite, ruined my appetite for the delicious ricotta cheese pancakes with caramelized bananas I had for lunch. Tonight, we went back there to listen to live drum music and I even braved the camel hamburger! It was quite flavorful, but I felt a little strange about eating it given that I had been riding a very live camel just a few days prior.
Tomorrow, we will catch a mid-afternoon train to Tangiers just four hours north of here. We will spend the night there before catching an early ferry over to Algericas, Spain, at which point we will continue on to Granada. Since we are leaving Morocco about a week early, we have some extra time on our hands and are trying to decide between a long weekend in either London or Rome. Comments or suggestions? I know, I live a hard life.
A few of you let me now recently that you have enjoyed reading what I've written so far- I'm so glad! I was fairly convinced I was writing to myself half the time and now I feel so much less of a loser haha! You all couldn't have let me know this earlier, hmmm?
Good night!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Fez, Tangiers
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