You need your wits about you if you are going to successfully navigate Fes medina. At one point having got caught up in a human traffic jam, I lost sight of anyone else in my group and was incredibly grateful for Lahcen who appeared magically at my side and somehow wove a path for me through all the crowds to rejoin them. He did the same for others throughout the day - it’s quite a talent! Having laughed at Aziz, our local guide, and his stories earlier in the day about how he sometimes happens upon blonde-haired, blue-eyed tourists who got lost in the medina years ago, I’m no longer entirely sure he was joking!
Given my deepening claustrophobia, I didn’t know how I would respond to a day spent in the narrow alleys and noisy crowds but fortunately there were so many interesting things to distract me that it was hard to feel uncomfortable for long.
Whenever it threatened to get too much, Aziz would cleverly lead us to an open square or quieter street and, at one point, to my favourite place of the day, a madrasah where sunlight filled the pretty courtyard.
This was a particularly welcome respite after the stench of the tanneries!
Over the course of the day we visited the ceramic school, the leather and textile districts and part of the food market which would be enough to turn the most committed meat-eater vegetarian!
I am now the proud owner of a tablecloth which I probably paid far too much for and which is definitely too garish for my flat but, hey, that’s all part of the experience, right?!
The evening was spent simply absorbing all the sights, sounds, smells and tastes I had been exposed to throughout the day and I’ve awoken refreshed and looking forward to our trip to Chefchaouen. Yallah!
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