Fes

We spent the last three days in Fes. As the religous center of Mroccco, Fes was both interesting and uninteresting. During the day the medina crawled with people, locals and tourists alike. A night, finiding a place to watch the world cup and have a beer could be difficult. We did get to spend a great deal of time 'lost' in the Medina, where we came across many beautiful Muslim buidlings such as mosques and medersas (Koranic schools). We even passed some of the most important mosques during a prayer time, so we could glance in to view what non-muslims do not usually have the opportunity to see. This is Michele and in one of the medersas.


The medinas are even better for shopping than viewing architecture, so we did a bit of browsing as well. Shopping areas in the medina are divided into Souks, which are clusters of one kind of shop or work areas for one kind of craft. You may be sourounded by shops selling jallabs (traditional Moroccan robes that bring to mind Jedi Knights) and turn a corner to find yourself surrounded by half a dozen stalls selling an identical assortment of candy. By far the most fascinating souk (and the most pungent) was the leather souk. From a terrace above the medina you can see vats full of the chemicals and dyes used to make leather from cows, sheep, goats, and camels. This is a picture of a leather souk from ground level.