Back in time with smells

The Medina of Fes is a functioning medieval city carried forward through time. It’s not a re-creation, it is the same unbroken line going back over a thousand years – same layout, same industries, just some added power, water and sewerage.

We toured the Medina and disappointed, in order, potters, tanners, herbalists, restaurateurs, and weavers by not buying anything. In spite of our lack of purchasing we had a good time and came away layered in perfumes, spices, and rug-dust.

The old town is atmospheric and, in contrast to Marrakech, there is a sense of reality amongst the tourist stalls. There will be a little hardware stall next to a rug-seller or a communal bakery beside a pottery shop.

The little lanes and streets are narrow, really narrow, and often end in dead-ends. It is deliberately confusing to, historically, deter invasion. The fact it is built into a valley means there’s no line of sight. Google stands no chance here. Put together it is a fascinating and confusing place – but, that said, it feels perfectly safe.

We visited a lovely madrasa and the oldest university in the world (at least the third one to claim that title, that we know of). As Fes’s university was founded in 859, it’s the winner as far as we can see, Regardless, the architecture is endlessly beautiful. Not for the first time, we noted how much Spain’s famous places owe to the fact most of the country was owned by the, in effect, Moroccans for centuries. I can’t help but think that Australia would be a, quite literally, cooler place if we’d been colonized by the Spaniards. The old North Africans had a depth of understanding in how to create calm, cool spaces.

There’s no question the most atmospheric visit was to the tanneries. They still tan and dye leather by hand, complete with enough of a smell that the first thing they do is hand you a bunch of fresh mint to protect your nose.

Amongst many good things about today, a definite highlight was the chance to walk about after yesterday’s epic car drive. So this afternoon we visited the walls, the Blue Gate and walked up a hill to a viewpoint that doesn’t feature in the tourist maps but was interestingly local.