Trip Log: Fes
March 8th, 2010It’s time again for travelling. The current adventure brings me to Morocco, where for two weeks I plan to explore the intersection of Arabic, French, and African culture. My trip begins in Fes, and we’ll see where it goes from there.
The trip got off to an exciting start during my first flight when a flight attendant announced over the intercom that there was a passenger who needed medical assistance, and they were asking if anyone could help help. Time to shine, peoples. My hand swiftly shot up in the air and I was taken to the back of the plane. There, they pointed me to a middle-aged woman having a hard time with some vague symptoms and an even harder time trying to articulate herself since she was only Spanish-speaking…it’s as if I never even left Hillcrest. After talking to her for awhile, taking her vital signs, and doing a brief exam, it seemed she was having an asthma exacerbation as well as a mild panic attack. Nothing Dr. Schricker couldn’t handle…and next thing he knew he got a free meal and a free flight upgrade.
Once in Fes, I spent much of my first two days looking around their very expansive markets (souks). Almost all of ancient Fes is covered with these, and the extremely narrow and winding streets make it a human-sized maze. A little claustrophobic at first, but nothing you can’t slowly get used to. You want to see Fes? This is Fes:
Wearing a Fes…in Fes.
One of the many donkeys on the streets. These guys are the hardest workers in all the city.
Morocco hasn’t captured my heart just yet, however. I’m sure part of it is the non-stop hassling by the locals, all of whom want to give me a tour, sell me something, or get me to view their carpets/blankets (if I ever again hear “Fes has 9400 streets and 14 gates, let me show you around” or “why you no want support Moroccan community?” or “come look at rug, it’s like Berber Picasso”, a Morrocan face might get punched.)
I nearly had it this afternoon when I was walking and had to ask a kid for directions. I didn’t ask him to, but he chose to escort me the entire way there. When we arrived I thanked him for his service, and he expected me to tip him. I offered him 10 dirhams (approximately one dollar) but got an unexpected surprise when he refused, accepting nothing less than 50. After some verbal arguments he, and his ugly-ass sidekick (who jumped out of nowhere all of a sudden), wanted me to hand over my backpack. Um, no. Or the contents of my backpack. No. What about my hat? Hellll no. I threw two coins at them and walked away.
But something that brought my opinion of Fes way up was the food. After sitting at a streetside restaurant and being served piping hot mint tea, a plate of fresh olives, and then a tajine filled with tasty meatballs in a bubbling hot spicy sauce, I almost forgot about the rest of my day.
March 8th, 2010 at 9:55 am
That’s awesome bro. Although while quickly scrolling thro the pics at first I saw the photo of you with the title: One of the donkeys on the street… I was pleasantly surprised by the insight!
If you are still in Fes, be sure to go check out the leather shops overlooking the tanneries.
Have fun! Very very very envious!
Kazi
March 9th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Amir, the exact same thing happened the first day I was in Marrakech. This guy who guided us wanted the equivalent of $10 for showing us where the “big square” was and at first I was unhappy with being in Morrocco. However if you get yourself a good map and don’t mind being lost for half the day then you’ll really enjoy it.
I hear the mosques in Fes are beautiful. Not sure if you read the New York times article about Fes that was printed a couple of years ago, but they point out some awesome sights.
Also, I think more than anything, Liza and I miss the food there.