Morocco 3 this-other-world

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MOROCCO

Location - North Africa; Capital - Rabat; Population - 32 million; Currency - Morocco Dirham MORE MOROCCO

The most convenient place to fly to get the Spanish enclave of Melilla was Fez. Not a bad destination in itself, so I revisited the city I first saw god knows how many years previously - October 2011.

mornote The Moroccan Dirham

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Before diving into the medina, I went to Borj Sud, a fort situated above the city. It's the perfect place to take in the medinas of Fez el-Jdid (left) and Fez el-Bali (right) - Fez

mor404 A close up of Fez el-Bali, the old town where tourists spend most of their time - Fez

Borj Sud (South Fort) is a short taxi ride from the old town - Fez

mor412 A gate marks one of the entrances to Fez el-Jdid, the newer of the old cities - Fez

mor410 Walking through a quiet Mellah, the former Jewish quarter within Fez el-Jdid - Fez

mor411 Balconies of some of the old Jewish houses in the Mellah - Fez

mor413 An old waterwheel, or noria, in Fez el-Jdid - Fez

mor417 Bab Boujeloud is the busiest of Fes el-Bali's entrance gates - Fez

mor419 Near Bab Boujeloud, the Batha Museum (Dar Batha) is housed in a 19th century palace - Fez

mor424 Batha Museum's Andalucian-style garden - Fez

mor425 A Dar Batha courtyard - Fez

mor428 One of the huge number of souqs (markets) in Fez el-Bali - Fez

mor432 The entrance to Bou Inania Medersa (madrasa), a 14th century Islamic college and mosque - Fez

mor434 The courtyard of Bou Inania Medersa - Fez

mor435 The medersa was built by Merenid sultan Bou Inan - Fez

mor437 Arabic writing on the walls of Bou Inania Medersa - Fez

mor438 Some of the medersa carvings are extremely intricate - Fez

mor439 Even pigeons are admiring the handiwork - Fez

mor429 Opposite the medersa is the ancient water clock, originally consisting of brass bowls with 13 windows and platforms - Fez

mor431 The protrusions form part of the ancient water clock but other brass sections have yet to be renovated.
It's unclear how the clock functioned so maybe it'll never be fully restored - Fez

mor440 The markets, or souqs, include brass-making, carpentry, henna, gold, jewellery, pottery and leather, to name but a few - Fez

mor441 I visited on a Friday so the souqs were pretty quiet. If you want hustle and bustle try mid-week - Fez

mor443 Fez al-Bali is a myriad alleyways where you're bound to get lost without a guide - Fez

mor446 Fez loves fountains of all shapes and sizes. This one is on Place an-Nejjarine next to the funduq of the same name.

mor447 This funduq - a caravanserai where merchants slept and traded goods while passing through - is now the Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts & Crafts - Fez

mor449 Go to the funduq's rooftop lookout for a cold drink - Fez

mor451 I'm told this is just a roof but it looks pretty quirky to me - Fez

mor452 The Zaouia Moulay Idriss II contains the tomb of Moulay Idriss II, the city's patron saint and ruler of Morocco in the 9th century - Fez

mor457 The courtyard and walls of the 14th century Medersa el-Attarine, another ancient college - Fez

mor460 Friday prayers at Kairaouine Mosque, one of the oldest and largest mosques in the world - Fez

mor461 Some of the streets in the old town are very narrow and can be a bit of a traffic jam - Fez

mor462 The famous Chaouwara Tanneries of Fez el-Bali - Fez

mor466 The leather is treated with pigeon droppings - Fez

mor463 Vats of vegetables dyes are used to colour the leather - turmeric for yellow; poppy for red; indigo for blue; mint for green etc. However the modern way means chemicals are often used instead - Fez