Rockstars in Paradise

Well, I can now tell you from experience that waking up in a palace is just as exciting as going to sleep in one. This place is beautiful. Every inch of Riad Myra is decorated with beautiful tiles, ornate plasterwork, intricate wood carvings, or embroidered fabric. Leaving the hotel for the medina was no less magical, as we walked past walls dating as far back as the 11^th century. We met up with Mohamed, who drove us to the top of the city to the south bastion for panoramic views of new Fez and old Fez.

Modern day Fez is huge, housing about 1 million people. As I mentioned yesterday, many of those people are master craftsman, and today was our day to learn about their trades. We first headed to Mosaique et Poterie de Fes, where we learned how the beautiful Moroccan pottery and tile mosaics are made. First, we had to ooh and aah over the lumps of gray clay (the finest, we are told, much better than that red clay), 

but then we got to see people actually working with it. They were incredible, one molding identically-sized bowls by the dozen in minutes and the other shaping fancier pieces (candlesticks, decorative bowls with wavy edges, etc) at a steady clip. 

My sister, our family artist-in-residence, stepped up to the wheel and managed to mold a plate on her first try. 

Sure, it might wobble and was certainly thrown back on the clay pile after we left, but it was far better than I could have managed. Neither of us would be eligible for employment here, as a typical worker has to make 800 tiles a day, which only takes them about 6 hours. I imagine, from the pace of bowl making we observed, that you’d have to make nearly as many of most other items to earn your keep.

We next saw the earthen kilns where the pottery is baked. Olive pits are added to the fire, and the color of the flame helps them regulate the temperature to a cool 1200 degrees. 

Then, it was on to how this beautiful clay can be decorated. We started with a style that I hadn’t seen (or at least noticed) before where some of the glaze is carefully removed to create patterns. 

Next, we saw craftsmen soddering silver wire onto bowls as decoration, chipping square tiles into smaller shapes to fit into mosaics (they have to sharpen their adzes every two hours!), or painting designs on to bowls with natural dyes. Fun fact – cobalt dye looks purple initially but becomes a dark blue after the piece is fired in the kiln.

Next, we saw them actually making the mosaics from the small tile pieces. They place everything upside down (so you better be careful about your colors), cover it with several layers of cement, and then flip it over to finish the piece. 

The tables and fountains that result end up weighing much less than you’d expect, and the patterns are mesmerizing. Wandering the store afterwards, surrounded by thousands of pieces, was a lesson in the variety of patterns and styles possible with these techniques.

While that might seem like enough for the day, we did squeeze in several more stops. We went to a palace from the 14^th century erected for the Alouet dynasty and recently restored by Hasan II (the current king’s father). 

We went to a madrasa (basically a large square enclosed by walls) that was elaborately decorated. 

It’s also the only madrasa with its own minaret, because it’s the only madrasa with its own mosque. The building used to be used as a school, with students residing in the dorms surrounding the square, but the French government put a stop to that because they felt that too many anti-French ideas were arising from educated locals congregating in such a place. Interestingly, the madrasa is decorated with a good deal of marble, as the Moroccans used to trade Moroccan sugar for Italian marble, pound for pound.

We then stopped for lunch, which deserves its own shout-out because it was AMAZING. We were at Restaurant Nejjarine (nejjarine means carpenter, as we were in the woodworking distict), and everything was delicious. They also served us the (cooked) salad course to end all salad courses. Definitely stop by if you’re in Fez!

Our final stop was at the tanneries, which have been running continuous since the 14^th century and employ over 950 families. 

The tanneries have also been stinking up a good deal of the medina all those years, as the traditional leatherworking process uses the mix of pigeon droppings (acidic) and lime and to soften and bleach the leather. Knowing the stench might come as a surprise, they supplied us with mint to sniff. 

After bleaching and softening, the hides are dyed with natural pigments (red from poppy, orange from henna, yellow from saffron, brown from cedar, blue from cobalt, etc). the hides sit in the vats for at least 20 days and must be moved around every 8 hours. 

Dyed hides are used for different things based on the type of animal. Camel hide is lightweight but strong and is often used for bags or belts. Cow leather is strong and heavy, and is used for similar items. Goat leather is light and very, very soft. It is therefore used for the wearable items, like jackets and gloves. We toured their shop, which was filled with lightweight camel bags, deliciously soft goat skin jackets in every color, and very eager salesmen. 

My sister and parents each ended up getting jackets, and then they made me haggle for them. Now I look like the schlubby photographer trailing a band of rockstars.

We ended our day with dinner at Café Clock, a restaurant attracting an eclectic bunch of diners, from tourists eager to try local cuisine and henna workshops to locals who enjoy the Wednesday night jam sessions and belt out pop songs from around the world, boy band-style. We managed to enjoy a few new drinks, including date milkshakes, fresh mint lemonade, and banana lassis. Then, we stumbled home for a good nights rest. It takes a lot of energy to soak up Fez in just two days.

The other thing I learned? I would never make it as a craftsman. Good thing I’m traveling with rockstars.

Spotted: some serious bling. Women here often have bedazzled belts to wear over their clothes on fancy occasions. The affordable version is made from dyed agave silk, which glistens like metal threads. The more expensive version is a giant gold belt that makes it look like you won the big WWE fight.

Additional photos from our day:

A beautiful tile mosaic table

Wood scaffolding holding up the creaky, sagging walls of the medina. Many families are too poor to restore their old houses, so the government puts up scaffolding in the meantime. Really makes you feel safe walking beneath it.

A metalworker free-handing an intricate design with just a bit and a hammer

Weaving a blanket using a shuttlecock that shoots back and forth

My sister and I wearing our new djellabas in the leather store. Djellabas are also known as "Moroccan sleeping sacks", and we're excited to use ours in the desert

Learning to tie turbans in preparation for the sandy desert. We did pretty well!