Memories from Fes; the cultural and spiritual capital of Morocco

Fes. One thing I like about being a journalist is being able to travel the world. In December last year, my work took me to Fes, Morocco. We had gone to the African Women in Media (AWiM) sixth annual conference. We landed in Casablanca, the home of the biggest international airport in the country, Mohammed V International Airport. And before I could even enjoy the warm welcome of “Casa,” as the locals famously call it, I was on a train to Fes, which took about four hours. As a first-time visitor, I can say the train to Fez is reliable, safe, and departs on time. Because I was jet lagged after several hours’ travel from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to Morocco, I just wanted to sleep, so when I was woken up by the voice of another passenger saying that I could be on the wrong seat, I was irritated but got up to leave.

The ladies seated next to me pushed me back to my seat when I tried to leave, motioning for me to remain seated. I could neither speak Arabic nor French, and they did not understand English. So the best option to communicate was through gestures. So I took the cue and stayed put in the very seat till my destination.

When the train arrived in Fes, it was already nightfall, and luckily, a passenger we shared a train cabin with led me to the taxis. He was being kind enough to ensure the taxi dropped me at the Les Mérinides Hotel, where I was booked to stay for the few days I was in Fes. When I arrived at the hotel, I was awed when I stared at the balcony and saw the lights from the old Fes. It was beckoning me to go out and explore the historical wonders of a city full of heritage that the darkness of that particular night could be hiding. The following day, I woke up to catch the beautiful sunrise from my hotel balcony.

Fes is the third largest city in Morocco and is unique for its medieval Medina, the oldest market in the world, surrounded by walls with numerous monumental buildings. The locals explained that the city walls of Fes and the gates played a role in defending it against invasion in the beginning but later were adopted as part of the city’s architectural heritage. According to UNESCO, Fez reached its height in the 13th and 14th centuries under the Marinids, when it replaced Marrakesh as the capital of the kingdom of Morocco. UNESCO explains on its website that although the political capital of Morocco was transferred to Rabat in 1912, Fez has retained its status as the country’s cultural and spiritual centre, and the Medina is a World Heritage Site.

We entered the Medina through the famous blue gate, which represents the colour of Fes; the other side is green, the colour of Islam. The moment you enter the Medina, you see Fes in action. You get to meet the people going about their business behind these hidden walls. You see people walking fast in the crowded streets, vendors selling, others buying, and some just sightseeing. The sounds, the sight, and the smell are just unique. You can just let your nose do the direction-finding for you, as you can smell freshly baked bread, different spices, or fish when you are walking in the food section. Lest I forget to mention the healing herbs of Morocco, especially the mint tea that I loved so much.

I cannot talk about the Medina without mentioning that it is divided into souks that specialise in different goods or crafts.

With a group of other journalists, we visited the leather tannery souk, which we accessed through the shops lined along the narrow streets of the Medina. The pungent smell of the leather could not stop us from listening to the workers in the tannery explain how the skin is processed to produce the beautiful bags, shoes, belts, and jackets we could see displayed on the wall. Most of the journalists had to leave that evening, so I remained in Fes to explore more of its hidden secrets.

I got to see workshops specializing in hand-weaving fabrics from the finest silk and wool. Seeing the drawlooms manually operated by weavers to make elaborately patterned clothes and shawls was breathtaking. Though the colourful fabrics are a deep contrast to the pale walls of the Medina, in my journalistic lens, it spoke of a society that deeply values its culture and fine textiles.

Another beautiful place worth perusing was the metal souk, where I got to rub shoulders with local craftspeople transforming copperware and brass into beautiful items.

I also had the opportunity to visit the Art Naji Workshop, a ceramic factory in Fes, and got the chance to see the whole production process of making traditional pottery and ceramics: the manual shaping of tiles, the mosaic, and the paint work.

One cannot end the story of Fes without mentioning the world’s oldest library, in al-Qatawiyyin Mosque. Its story dates back to 859 AD, when one great Moroccan woman, Fatima al-Fihriya, decided to build a university for herself and the intellectuals of her time. It sits majestically in the heart of the Medina. I did not have the opportunity to get inside it to explore.

Did I tell you that I joined the Moroccans in a local joint to cheer the Lions of the Atlas, who were playing in the World Cup at the time we were in Fes? Well, now you know.

It was time to go back home, but I wanted to stay in Fes. I fell in love with the city and its people, who are so loving and kind. As I opened my hotel balcony once more and stared at the lights of Fes, I shed a tear before letting the porter carry my bags downstairs into the waiting taxi. I made one promise: I will visit Fes again, and this time I will stay longer.