Spring Colours in the Kingdom of the West (part 6)

Morocco is yellow - Besides the yellow hues of the dunes along the Atlantic Coast, Morocco has its own "Yellow City" - Fez. The nickname is due to the predominantly yellowish or creamy color of its ancient medina's buildings. 

It is the last of the four "imperial cities" and the oldest amongst them as it was the first imperial capital founded by Moulay Idriss between 789 and 808. 

In addition to the Idrisid dynasty, it was also the capital city under the dynasties of the Merenids, the Wattasids, the Saadis and the Alawis. 

Today it is the artistic, historical, spiritual and intellectual capital of Morocco. 

Unlike many other walled cities, Fes el-Bali (the Old Fez) has not burst its banks, and its gates and ramparts remain intact. 

With a maze of more than 2,000 streets and 200 mosques, Fez’s medina is one of the largest living and working medieval cities in the world, and was probably the most authentic medina we saw in the whole of Morocco.

Wandering around the quaint and narrow lanes is like an endless parade of old houses, museums, palaces, riads, mosques, minarets, fountains, funduqs, covered souqs and workshops with artisans creating and selling their wares using traditional techniques, from tanned leather goods to copper pots, brass plates, colourful ceramics, intricate woodwork, colourful carpets, elegant embroidery, fragrant spices, and so much more.

You will most certainly hear the already familiar "Balak! Balak!", shouted by the men driving the donkeys and mules - the main form of transport of goods in the narrow, winding and low-ceiling alleys.

We had read that it was easy to get lost in the maze of lanes and any visitor would at one point of time have to pay one of the many guys offering their help with directions. 

Well, maybe people could get lost before smartphones and GPS existed, but not anymore. Using OpenStreetMap - OsmAnd on Android and having a basic sense of orientation will be enough to get you out of the maze!

Also, getting lost is maybe the whole point… 

A hidden square or a colourful souq - you never know what is around the next corner… The surprising discoveries you will make while being "lost" in the maze of winding lanes should be the main goal of your visit in the medina. 

While in Fez, you should visit the Bou Inania Madrasa. This theological college, built in 1350, is one of the most famous madrasas in Morocco, and represents the Merenid architecture at its most perfect! 

You will not know where to look from the intricate stucco work to the magnificent carved cedarwood, the curly Arabic calligraphy, the stained glass and the jewel-like zellige mosaics.

Opposite the madrasa’s entrance is the famous 14th-century water clock with carved beams holding brass bowls with water, which flows between them to mark the hours. The clockmaker who designed it never revealed the secret of the mechanism…

Not far from the madrasa and the water clock is another must-visit site - the Dar Batha Museum. 

This gorgeous summer palace, built in the 19th century by the Alawi sultans, houses the Museum of Islamic Arts. 

It displays some stunning artifacts and a lot of very helpful explanations about Morocco’s history and its numerous dynasties.

It is incredibly pleasant to wander around the cute courtyards, elegant galleries and serene Andalusian gardens with colorful zelliges, painted woodwork and ornamental fountains. Today, concerts and festivals are held in the garden, including the famous annual Fez Festival of World Sacred Music (le Festival des Musiques Sacrées du Monde).

Another one of the city’s most iconic sights and smells is the Chouara tannery - the largest and the oldest of the three tanneries in Fez. In order to see it, you should pick one of the leather shops in the surrounding streets, which offer from their terraces beautiful vantage points above the tanning pits. Pick the shop wisely depending on the time of the day you visit the tannery, as you might want to have the sun behind you. 

The salesmen of the shop will expect you to buy something, but there is of course no obligation. If you fall for one of the many cute leather poufs (hassocks), you need to bargain hard (even half of the price you will be offered might be higher than what you would pay in Europe…). If you do not buy anything, you might offer a small tip for the mint leaves you had been given when entering the shop - held under your nose, they will definitely help with the stench from the tannery.

The tough skins of cows, sheep, goats, and camels are first soaked in a series of white liquids, made from various mixtures of cow urine, pigeon feces, quicklime, salt, and water, in order to clean and soften them. They are then soaked in dyeing solutions using natural colorants, such as poppy for red, indigo for blue, and henna for orange, and finally dried under the sun. The whole process involves only manual labor and uses methods unchanged since medieval times.

The views of the tannerie, its pits awash with coloured dye and the hanging leather skins are beyond picturesque, but hide the truth of the hard work and long hours of the tannery workers…

Finally, do not miss the babs surrounding the medina either. Each of them is different and equally stunning.

At times, walking around the hecticness of the medina might feel overwhelming, which is when you should go back to your riad and relax. It will feel like a safe haven in the middle of this madness! Fez was the city where we stayed in the most authentic riad - Riad Toyour. It was right in the middle of the medina, but felt like we were miles away.

Throughout our trip we realised that many accommodations in the country were called riads, but most of the time did not fit the definition. The word "riad" means "garden" in Arabic and refers to a traditional Moroccan house, built around an outdoor patio or garden with a fountain, and sheltered by high walls from the prying eyes of the passers-by. In a nutshell, a riad is like a hidden oasis or a peaceful bubble in the heart of the crowded and noisy medina. The motto of the riads should be the French saying "Pour vivre heureux, vivons cachés.", which translates into "To live happily, live hidden.", and suggests that true happiness is found in privacy and a life away from the public eye or potential disturbances. I cannot agree more with that!

Most riads also have panoramic rooftops, where you can sip your mint tea while enjoying a spectacular sunset. The ubiquitous and quaint zelliges, tadelakt (a waterproof lime plaster surface) and bejmat tiles (handcrafted natural clay tiles), as well as the hibiscuses, bougainvilleas, jasmine flowers, geraniums, banana trees and cacti inthe gardens will make you feel like you were in heaven.

You might want to stay in your riad forever, but at one point of time you will need to venture out of it and even outside the medina. In Fes el-Jdid (or the "New" Fez, which is "only" 700 hundred years old) southwest of the medina, you will find the grounds of the Royal Palace which is not open to the public, but the imposing gold-plated doors, surrounded by fine zelliges and carved cedar wood, are worth the visit.

Another reason to venture outside Fez’s medina and make it to this neighbourhood is the mellah, which in the 14th century was a refuge for the Jews who enjoyed the sultan’s favours. 

The architecture of their remaining old houses with open balconies looking onto the streets is a marked contrast to the Muslim architecture of the neighbouring palace gates.

Finally, do not miss the panoramic views of Fez from the Merenid Tombs, a set of ruined monumental tombs on a hill north of the medina. From there, you will really take in the whole city and understand better why it was nicknamed the "Yellow City". 

However, the highlight of our stay in Fez was not one of its landmarks, or even the views, but the ceramic workshop we attended in one of the city’s factories - Art Naji. Fez is famous for its ceramics - this is the place where we saw the most beautiful ceramic washbasins in Morocco - and is without any doubt the best place to learn more about this ancestral craft.

First, we were shown around the factory… 

We observed the artisans and all the steps of the process of making tagines, zelliges and other items. 

Then we visited the rejected pieces room, the museum and the two shops which were full of many wonderful ceramics. 

Finally, we assembled a zellige (which is done in a reversed way like a jigsaw, but without any pictures, just shapes), painted a baby tagine, and made some plates with the help of the artisans.

During the workshop, we learned a lot about the life of the factory, as well as the different types of tagines. For example, those with geometric patterns follow the Islamic style, while the flower-patterned ones are in Moroccan style. Also, if you want to cook dishes in your tagine, you should pick one with a hole in its cover, as those without a hole are only used for serving. We could not resist buying a few tagines from the factory shop in order to practice our newly acquired Moroccan culinary skills back home!

The tagines are actually the perfect way to see all of Morocco’s colours at once - the white, blue, green, orange, brown, ochre, red and yellow are both in the patterns of the vessels and in the spices and fresh herbs used for the dishes cooked inside. 

The bright colours are also present in all the other delicious and exotic specialties that the country has to offer. The richness of Moroccan cuisine is due to the mix of cultures, but also to the abundance of delicious local meat, fruits and vegetables. While driving around the country, you will realise how fertile the land is - as close to Eden on Earth as it can get!

The Moroccan feast starts with breakfast, which will always include a few different types of fresh bread. It is a staple food that you can buy anywhere in the country, from khubz - the common round pita bread baked in communal ovens, to msemmen - a square-shaped, layered flatbread, baghrir - a small, spongy pancake, riddled with tiny holes and known as the Moroccan pancake, harcha - a round and thick semolina flatbread, and batbout - a round mini pita bread. 

Every breakfast will also include different jams, dips and spreads, such as argan oil, honey and the famous amlou (the Moroccan almond butter made from ground almonds, honey, and argan oil), as well as dates, olives and local cheese (the goat cheese jben, typical for Chefchouen, is delicious)! 

Actually, the olives are present all the time and at any meal. If you like olives, you will be in heaven. 

You will taste different varieties, from the usual black and green ones to the less known red or rather deep purple ones, and they are all delicious! 

Every morning meal will also come with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, which is as omnipresent in the country as the mint tea. 

Just look around and you will see orange trees everywhere, including along the city streets. The important question we got that still remains unanswered is what happens with the oranges that have fallen from the trees - do they go to waste as nobody seems to be picking them? 

Sometimes, our hearty breakfast included a bowl of dchicha - a soup made of cracked wheat (a cousin of the bulgur wheat), ginger, sweet paprika, and a touch of saffron.

Besides the dchicha and the famous harira, another soup that you might try in Morocco - probably for the experience rather than the taste, unless you are really starving or freezing - is the bissara. It is made of split fava beans, onions, garlic, fresh herbs and spices, has an incredibly creamy and thick consistency and is served in pottery bowls. You will also try, at least once, some kind of chorba, a hearty soup which is less thick than the harira. It is prepared in various ways, but always contains some vegetables and sometimes diced meat (mainly lamb - the most commonly eaten meat in the country).

Morocco’s colours are also in another iconic dish - the couscous, or a slow-steamed handrolled semolina, served with a light broth, meat and vegetables, or only vegetables. The couscous is a completely different dish from the tagine - the latter is eaten with bread, and not with couscous as a side dish! Contrary to the ready to cook couscous you can buy in Europe, preparing couscous in Morocco can take several hours as the semolina granules are steamed multiple times to achieve the desired fluffy texture. This is the reason it is usually served only on Fridays or upon special order - you will have to be patient, but the wait is really worth it. 

Bear in mind that the "couscous royal", mixing different types of meat such as chicken, merguez sausages and kefta, was probably invented in France (which, I am afraid, does not remove its deliciousness)!

Another dish we loved that you can try in the High Atlas or the Anti-Atlas is cooked in a tagine vessel, but is not really a tagine dish. The Berber omelette is pretty simple but mouth-watering - beaten eggs, poured over a rich sauce made from tomatoes, onions, and a blend of aromatic spices, cooked until set and garnished with fresh herbs.

Another Berber dish you can try when in the desert is the medfouna, also known as the "Berber pizza" or the "desert pizza". It is prepared from a round-shaped dough, stuffed with vegetables, onions, minced meat, cheese, spices and herbs. Unlike the pizza though, the medfouna has two layers of dough - one at the bottom and one on the top covering the filling. To prepare a truly traditional medfouna (translating into "buried" from Arabic), Berbers dig a pit in the sand, build a small fire, place stones on top, set the pie atop the hot stones and cover it with sand. After cooking, the charred exterior is scraped with a cloth and a knife, and the pie sliced into wedges. 

Another peculiar experience would be trying some camel meat. A friend of ours ordered a camel meat hamburger and concluded that it tasted like beef, but in our opinion camels are way too cute to even think of eating them… In the desert you might also be offered some camel milk - we skipped this one as well after being told by our local desert friends that the taste was quite strong for a European palate!

Another specialty you should definitely try is the pastilla - a sweet and savoury dish with shredded pigeon or chicken meat, topped with scrambled eggs, filo pastry, almonds, sugar and cinnamon. It is usually prepared for weddings and celebrations in Morocco and therefore it might be difficult to find it in most restaurants. The perfect place to try both the pastilla and - another rare specialty - the rfissa is Meknes!

There is no way you will miss the briouats either. These sweet or savoury puff pastries, made in a triangular shape and filled with meat, fish or almond paste, are the perfect snack for any day when you have too much on your bucket list.

And last but not least, there are the Moroccan sweets that will be everywhere, in huge quantities and in dozens of different shapes during Ramadan, and will present a real temptation you will not be able to resist. They are made of almonds, honey, dates, orange flower water, sesame and the list goes on and on. The most famous sweets are the chebakia, made of strips of dough rolled to resemble a rose, deep-fried until golden, then coated with a syrup made of honey and orange flower water and sprinkled with sesame, and usually served with a harira at iftar time, as well as the kaab el-ghazal (or a gazelle horn) - a crescent-shaped cookie made of flour-based dough, filled with almond paste and aromatized with orange flower water.

Moroccan cuisine will not be what it is without these sweets, but also without all the spices, condiments and fresh herbs - the king of spices Ras el hanout, the trio of salt, pepper and cumin that replaces the usual salt and pepper duo on the tables of the cafés and restaurants, the preserved lemons, the fresh coriander and mint, the harissa - this hot chili pepper paste giving even more flavour to the already delicious dishes, and so much more. The perfect places to buy them while enjoying all the vibrant colours of the country at the same place are the souqs! 

These hectic and picturesque markets are also the perfect spots where you can find bright-coloured djellabas, caftans and babouches, embroidered pillows, leather poufs, intricately woven rugs, painted ceramics, shiny teapots and various other craft items.

In order to survive the souqs though, you will need to overcome the challenge of bartering, which does not come easily to some of us but is part of the way of life in Morocco. However, the most important of your problems will not be how to bargain and what to buy, but given the limited space in your suitcase, what not to buy! Do not give up though - there is a lot that you can put in your suitcase, or in the additional one you will buy… from the souq! I promise that, no matter the fight and resistance you might throw, you will bring home at the very least a pouf, a teapot, a tagine and some spices, and these will make beautiful and colourful memories of an amazing road trip to the Kingdom of the West!