After the desert, we spent another night in Fes before heading to our next destination. The Riad was a traditionally-renovated 14th century home! It was lavish, with a ceiling that rose perhaps 25' high. Matthew took the picture from the top of the stairs of our wonderfully jasmine-smelling 2nd floor bathroom! (Also not pictured was our comfy "sitting area,"- an L-shaped couch filled with cushions and a beautifully-carved wooden coffee table where they brought us breakfast! (And here's my plug for booking.com :) )
These castle-like structures surround the Medina. There are homeless who reside where they can, and certain corners of the wall are used as toilets. (We will spare you that picture.) The brute struggle for survival within these ancient stonewall theaters felt biblical...
And yet modernity can not be resisted...
In the morning, we bid farewell to Fes, catching an early train to the northcoast town of Tangier.
Unlike the center and south of Morocco, it was a verdant, fertile land.
Tangier is a harbor town, with neighborhoods both modern and ancient...
As in Fes, there were an abundance of beautiful things to buy. Yet we had neither money nor luggage space. One thing we especially enjoyed were the old-world open-air markets. This seems to be the way to shop for spices!
Also like Fes, there were people around every corner begging to guide us through the twisted streets, which is how we met Muhammad (or, as he dubbed himself, the "Moroccan Ghandi").
Even after telling him several times we did not have money to pay for a guide and did not want to waste his time...he continued to accompany, or guide, us through the colorful streets.
He led us to a museum of old relics. Below you can see a most elaborate ceiling, hundreds of years old...
Muhammad led us to a friend's restaurant where our unsolicited "tour" ended. We thanked him and gave him a bit of what little money we had. Even though we told him throughout his time with us that we didn't want a guide and we didn't have extra money, he got it in his head that we were going to pay him more than what we offered. He actually stood outside the restaurant while we ate, waiting for us to pay him an additional sum. He only left after the restaurant owner asked him to, but not before we exchanged apologies...him for bothering us, us for not being able to give him more. We were hoping that it wouldn't have ended up that way, but just as we found in Fes, everyone was hustling, even "Moroccan Ghandi."
No comments:
Post a Comment