Laurie and I went out to the internet. It didn't open until 7 p.m. The keyboards are different than ours and it was very frustrating to use, so we didn't stay long. The keyboard is a French and Arabic keyboard. The French have some letters in different spots because they use them more than we do.
After the internet we went to look for something to eat. The streets were now crowded with people. The people are coming from the Mosque. I guess they go to prayer five times a day.
Laurie and I got take away chicken and brought it back to eat. Everyone knows we are tourists because of the way we dress and the women here have their heads covered. Sometimes I get strange looks and I feel out of place.
One of the things that most of the people wear is called a djolapa. I am not sure of the spelling. This is worn as an overcoat. Ususally put over the head and it has a hood. When the men wore the hoods they looked like KKK. It just felt weird.
November 18, 2003
Laurie and I were able to get something to eat at the hotel. We ate while we were waiting for our guide. We weren't sure if he was going to show or not. We were hoping that he would because we weren't sure what we would do if he didn't.
Abdull did show and he promptly wisked us away in a cab. He gave us an overview of the city pointing out the Jewish quarters and the medina area from the high point of the city.
The medina is where we were to spend most of our time, but he first took us to a ceramic factory. It was very interesting. There was a man who showed us around and explained the process. They make the clay and pottery and hand paint the designs. They are quite nice. The other process which was definitely more impressive was the tile tables and other items. Each tile has to be cut and shaped by hand with hammer and chiseled. Then someone has to put all of the pieces together. Some of the pieces are smaller than a fingernail. It was very fascinating.
Of course there was a showroom with the pieces of work to sell. Laurie and I bought things there. We will have to ship them because they are much too heavy to carry.
Abdull then took us by taxi to the Medina area. Fez is known as the handicraft capitol of the country. They have many crafts that are hand done. The medina has over 9000 streets which are more like alleys. The streets are filled with souks which are like booths or shops selling their wares. The streets are narrow and slippery because of the rock stone, mud, and wetness. They are crowded and many times we saw donkeys trying to come through with items on their backs.
The first place that Abdull took us to there was a tanning place. This is also quite fascinating. We could see their tubs where they dye the leather either from camel, sheep, goat, or cow. The dyes are made from indigo for blue, mint for green, saffron for yellow, henna for orange, coal for black, and pigemsnit for white. The boys/men would stand in the tubs with the leather trying to dye them. The smell was horrible.
There was another salesperson trying to sell leather hassocks. I resisted. I spent too much at the ceramic place. Unfortunately, I can't say I resisted for the rest of the day, because the next place was a rug place. The rugs were beautiful and I think I like them better than the ones we saw in Nepal. Laurie bought one and I was trying to resist. These salesmen are good, but at least I bargained for mine. I didn't make it easy. I guess I feel guilty spending that much money. Well, at least I am helping the people here.
My rug was older and had been made for an aristocrat. So the story goes. Well that was my last purchase, thank goodness. Not that we weren't shown places. The next place we went to was Berber spice place, a metal workplace, an embroidery place, and a clothing store.
The metal work was nice but not anything I would use. The work was all hand hammered on bronze. The embroidery place where woman hand stitched a free stitched design on a tablecloth, placemats, and napkins. The woman sat there stitching using both hands, without a pattern. The back of it was just as beautiful as the front. The clothing place they had traditional clothing of the people. Laurie and I tried on different outfits, but where would we wear them, a Halloween party?
The souks were interesting. They would have one alley filled with material, one alley filled with just threads, one alley with slippers, one with gold and silver. We didn't spend alot of time looking. It also had the normal places for grains, breads, nuts, sweets, and other items.
The whole day was quite an experience and I am glad that we had Abdull. He also pointed out all of the mosques in the area. This area was built in the 1300's and it probably hasn't changed much.
Abdull got us a taxi and we took someone else. The three men are jabbing away in Arabic and Laurie and I are talking. A good thing because I certainly didn't want to see him drive. A few times the driver almost hit a person walking.
Our packages were delivered to the hotel. It is not that I didn't trust these people I just wanted to make sure we got them before we leave tomorrow.
Laurie and I went out walking the streets. We were looking for a bookstore. Time to get new books. The place was closed. Today is actually a holiday, Independence Day.
