We left Sevilla at 4AM on Friday morning and took a bus to Algeciras where we took a ferry to cross the Strait of Gibraltar to arrive in Ceuta, a territory of Spain. We hopped on the bus again and finally crossed over into Morocco. The border control between Morocco and Spain is really strict, so it was quite a process trying to get across the border. Being at the border really reminded me how different the living conditions are in Morocco compared to Spain. There is a wall separating the two sides and we saw several people throwing things from the Spain side to the Morocco side. Things like diapers are very expensive and hard to find in Morocco, so we saw many people trying to send them over. The whole first day was solely traveling, but we finally arrived in Fes around dinnertime.
I'm splitting my Morocco trip into two different blog posts: the Medina and the Sahara.
So first off, the Medina! All day Saturday was set aside for the Medina, a walled city containing residences, shops, markets and restaurants. This is somewhere you could never go without a guide (in my opinion) because you could get lost in a heartbeat. There are thousands of narrow streets. It's like a huge maze. Our guide told us we only needed to learn one word in Arabic (which unfortunately I cannot spell) that people yell in the Medina, which basically means to get out of the way. The streets are so narrow that if there is a horse or donkey walking through or someone pushing a cart, you have to push yourself up against the wall as to not get run over. We learned that word really quickly.
Many of our guides explained to us throughout our trip that Moroccan homes are never ornate on the outside, even if the owners are very wealthy. They don't like to publicize their wealth in this way, but the inside of the homes are very beautiful. So the buildings in the Medina are not much to look at from the outside, but many of the shops and restaurants are gorgeous on the inside.
The Royal Palace
Ana, Taylor and I claiming the palace
Streets of the Medina
Our first stop in the Medina was a leather shop. The shop was on the second and third floor of a building and from the balcony of the shop, you could see down to where they actually prepare and dye the leather to make all the things they sell in the shop. The white bins are made of limestone where the leather goes first to be prepared, then it is dyed in the brown bins. All the leather is dyed with natural dyes, like flowers and seeds.
The whole leather shop smells horrible, so they give you mint leaves on the way in to mask the smell.
Almost everything in the Medina you have to barter for. The only thing I wanted for myself from Morocco was a leather bag, so I bargained hard for it (pictured above)! The salesman started at 575 dirhams (the local currency) and I got him down to 275. I was pretty proud of myself! With conversion, that's only about $35. He really didn't like me towards the end, but finally gave in. He told me I was "lucky" in a not-so-pleasant tone. I consider it a win!
The next store we went to was a rug store. It was beautiful inside! All the rugs are handmade by local women. They owner of the shop started off with offering us all mint tea (which I loved) to butter us up. Pretty much everything in the store was out of our student price ranges, but it was great to look around and see everything. This is something I wish I could bring home for my parents, but I don't think I could've gotten a rug in my price range even with my newfound bartering skills!
Next up was the pharmacy! I wasn't really excited to see the pharmacy because I was picturing a European or American pharmacy, but it wasn't at all that. It was probably my favorite part of the day. The pharmacy was full of organic and handmade beauty products, spices, herbal medicine, and tons of other things. The owner of the store gave us show of all the products. He let us try on all the lotions and smell the perfumes and spices. They even let us try this medicine that is supposed to clear your sinuses. It was this ground up powder-stuff wrapped in a hankerchief that they shoved up your nose and made you inhale. It's really horrible and makes you tear up but my one nostril did seem significantly less congested the rest of the day... He even gave my friend Lauren a "Moroccan makeover" complete with eyeliner and a lipstick that looks green before you put it on because it's made with henna, but turns a different shade of red or pink depending on your skin tone. It was so cool!
Lauren getting her makeover!
After the pharmacy, we went to see a fabric store! It had pashmina scarves and all different traditional Moroccan clothing. Unfortunately, by this time of day my dirhams had run out thanks to the leather store and the pharmacy. They even had their own weaving loom to show you how they make the fabric in-store.
They said this was a "man's job" because you have to use your arms and legs at the same time to weave the fabric.
Traditional Moroccan clothing
After the fabric store, our guides took us to a restaurant in the Medina that was inside a beautiful home. I was too hungry to get a good picture of the food or the restaurant, but here's our lovely table setting complete with rose petals!
Next up-the jewelry store! It was more like an everything store. They had tea sets, hookahs, pottery, wall decor and mirrors. They even had an in-house artisan! He showed us how he makes designs on the metal plates with only a needle and a hammer. Such tedious work, but it looked beautiful.
Artisan showing off his work
We got out of the maze of the Medina and took the bus a few minutes to a pottery factory and store. The factory was originally in the Medina, but was forced out because of the fire hazard of heating the pottery with the buildings all so close together. We saw how the clay was prepared for the pottery and how the tiny tiles are made for the mosaics.
Workers shaping tiles for the mosaics
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at an overlook where you could see the whole Medina.
All my friends from my ISA Sevilla group that came to Morocco!
Back at the hotel
After dinner that night, we went to a bellydancing show. There was really only one bellydancer who danced for maybe 20 minutes, but the rest of the show was traditional music and dancing, which was great! Two of the girls from the group had a birthday that day, so they dressed them up in Moroccan clothing and made them dance along with them. It quickly turned into a big birthday party complete with Moroccan music and dancing!
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