Dhar Lbatha

Founded in the 9th Century, Fes is a former capital of Morocco and a current centre of artisan crafts and foods.

Our first day after arriving we went down to explore the old Medina. Very quickly we found ourselves wandering through the narrow alleys that had transitioned into the market (or souk). While being the same as the narrow alleys we’d wandered the night before to our Riad, the key feature that differentiated the alleys from the souk was makeshift roofs of lattice, wood and even carpets installed to enclose the alleyways. This was exactly the essence I’d expected for Morocco. Bustling colourful souks with all kind of foods and trinkets all merged into a steamy hotpot of smells and activity.

The Medina of Fes was founded in the 9th Century, but reached its heights in the 13th–14th Centuries when Fes was the capital of Morocco. With Fes having 9454 cobbled alleyways the souk itself is a myriad of alleys with various stalls lining either side.

Seemingly unintentionally, as you wander through you realise you’re naturally passing through different sections designated to a particular craft. Spices, fruits and veggies, woodworking, leather crafts, clothes and dress shops, shoes, sweets, metal working, lamps and more. But at the same time each of the offerings had each others crafts mixed in. The best part was that most of the stalls selling handcrafts actually had someone in the back of the stall producing their wares. Whether it was someone moulding copper into an intricate lamp or weaving a new rug it was all done right there in the souk.

The next day on the advice from Saad, our Riad host, we took a tour with a local guide. A great option to help navigate the maze and learn about a lot of the history surrounding us. Starting the day at a pottery factory we gained an understanding of where all the mosaics that cover the town come from. Everything from making tiles to bowls to Tangines (a clay pot and lid that is unique to Moroccan cuisine). From mixing the clay and forming the tiles in the sun to dry, the factory had a production line running right through to painting and kiln firing the products. Our first impression of Fes was how almost every doorway, floor or wall had intricate tile mosaics or carved stone. Seeing the work that went into the initial creation of this made the place even more impressive.

From there we went back into the old Medina. Our guide Hamid took us down a few of the back alleys we hadn’t dared wander the day before and up to a filthy rooftop mezzanine that had a shoe factory on it. We joined a handful of guys cutting stencilled leather from hides and hand stitching them to the soles.

Possibly the second main attraction of Fes after the Old Medina is the leather tannery. This place was incredible! While there’s a few tanneries in Fes this one is the biggest. They say that tannery in Fes dates back to the early 12th century. Now the leather comes from local butchers. Hides of cows, sheep, goats, and camels are brought here to be conditioned and dyed.
We went up to the rooftop of a leather goods shop that had a view over the whole operation below. Before heading up the stairs we were handed a bunch of fresh mint leaves and told “this is gasmask”, and gestured to hold it in front of our nose.
The first stage is conditioning which is done in the "white wash" vats (the left of the picture). The mixture is made from cow urine, pigeon poo, quicklime, salt, and water. The urine and pigeon poo are used as natural sources of ammonia and the process has gone unchanged for hundreds of years. As we looked down on the tannery below the need for the “gas mask” become obvious as the smell was putrid! Hides are left in the white baths for 2-3 days to remove the hair and get the hides ready for dying

For dying, natural colors are used such as poppy for red, indigo for blue, and henna for orange. The leather is then hung put to dry in the sun which with temperatures in the high 30’s and hitting over 40C in summer it doesn’t take long.

With over 300 mosques in Fes, the Medina has some of the most incredible mosques I’ve ever seen. Decorated with amazing tile mosaics and wood carved doorways and ceilings these mosques are spread around the whole city and interspersed through the souk as well. Right in the middle of the souk is even the oldest existing and continuously operating university. Al-Qarawiyyin mosque was established in 859AD originally teaching mathematics and arithmetic becoming so well known around the world that Pope Sylvester II travelled to Fes in the 10th century to study here. Now focusing on Islamic and legal studies the mosque is an incredible reminder of how Fes and Morocco have been a key point of trade and joining cultures over many centuries.

My greatest takeaway from our trip so far is how close Africa is to Europe and the Middle East. From the various ethnicities and obvious influences seen through every part of the city it becomes clear that Morocco has been a key trade route for each of these regions to mix and trade. From an Australian perspective it’s so hard to grasp the concept of time in this place. For now though it’s time to escape the hustle of the souk and find one of the many rooftop terraces to enjoy a “Moroccan whisky” (mint tea).Read more