Morocco – Fes/Rabat/Casablanca
Jan 18th, 2014 by willmarks
This is the last in my four-part Moroccan Odyssey series, the quadra-blog that will never end, sorry.
The drive from the Atlas Mountains to Fes was long, but we can partially “blame” our slow and safe driver, Mohamed, never in the left lane and always well below the speed limit on roads that seem fine yet are not really deemed safe. The distance was about 600 kilometers, the speed limit normally 100, and it took a good 10 hours to complete the journey.
Mohamed was joined by Driss, a well educated and very informative guide, who could answer any question we had, be it about Moroccan history, Berber rights, the Atlas Mountains, or his 51-day trek with a National Geographic reporter (article, which helps explain Berber history), who had fallen off his mule during the long expedition, yet somehow failed to mention this incident in his article, despite the fact that Driss had to hike him 4 hours to the nearest village with a 4-wheel drive ambulance then taking him to an even more distant hospital to treat his head injury. While Driss was simply a white collar tour guide for us, he had been chosen by the NG reporter due to his mountain expertise and ability to converse in English, Arabic, French, and the three key Berber languages spoken in the area. He would be with us for the remainder of the trip, from the Atlas Mountains to Fes, Rabat, and Casablanca, dropping us at the airport a day or two before his second baby was due, 300 kilometers away in Marrakech.
In Fes, we were quickly introduced to the labyrinth when we stepped out of the van, taking the necessary pedestrian route to follow a cart holding our bags, left then right then right, or was it left? For some reason, Atlas and Sahara had messed up our riad reservation, so we were taken to Kassr Annoujoum, a riad that was more like a palace (it actually was a palace at some point), with overly ornate rooms and antiques and art that we had to prevent the children from touching. While beautiful to observe, this didn’t lead to comfort, given the cold temperature; fancy rooms don’t produce a good night’s sleep, particularly when they lack adequate heating.
Restaurant Dar Hatim was a gorgeous space and good food; I tasted more than bread and banana for the first time in two days, and then the show began with musicians, belly dancers, a magician, and a price the highest since our arrival in Morocco. Our guides, who escorted us here, likely received a kickback on this one, but it still could be called a solid overall experience, and recommendation for future Fes family foodies.
Ah Fes, what a city! We met up with Abdul, a guide focused on Fes whom we could also call a 40+ year-old gregarious, single playboy. A specific Fes guide is necessary, given this maze of a city. Abdul first took us outside the walls, into a clay/pottery school, where we considered purchases until clear thinking helped us balance the risk (of breaking during travel) versus reward (owning a clay pot/vase that we don’t really need or want).
…then to this view from a palace above the medina, the oldest medina in the Arab world, from the 9th century.
And finally, we toured the medina itself. Once inside, we explored narrow streets barely wide enough to walk through, and some with a meaningful grade. We visited one of the oldest tanneries, right in the heart of the town, with leather coming from camel, goat, and cow. From the top of the building selling not so cheap leather products solely to tourists like us, we were rewarded with an interesting view of the process…
…and from the other side of the building, we took in a scene that combines the old world (medina dating back to 9th century) with the obvious new (rooftop decor).
Earlier in the trip we rode camels in Essaouira, then saw the finished camel hides as jackets and purses, and now this…
A shot made for t.v…and at a cost to us of a few dirham, likely a setup (set-up???) for this guy to earn some cash.
Another ATM-supported experience was at the weaver/fabric/clothing store, yielding a strong under the table profit to our guide Abdul, who clearly was happy with our pouffe, blanket and scarf purchases.
In Fes, we also briefly visited what we were told is the oldest university in the world, University of Al-Karaouine, founded by a woman, Fatima al-Fihri, in 859. Next stop, Rabat.
A 200 kilometer evening drive left us at Riad Kalaa; it was understaffed but the rooms were warm, important after the prior three nights. A relaxing dinner at the hotel, and the next morning’s agenda included a walk through the beautiful blue Portuguese section of the medina, right next to the Atlantic.
We visited the mausoleum of the current King Mohamed VI’s father, Hasan II, and his highly regarded grandfather Mohamed V; the English spellings seem to add the extra “m” in Mohammed and “n” in Hassan. This is outside the mausoleum…
More shopping, and don’t dis the medina of Rabat too quickly; some do, but we had a good experience in a wonderful wide alley of the medina, purchasing another blanket, posters and more magic boxes. Still, in retrospect, we would have cut out Rabat from our trip, either shortening the 10-day journey or replacing Rabat with an extra day in Fes.
For lunch, we needed a break from tagines and couscous so we found La Mamma, an Italian restaurant near the parliament; watching pasta disappear quickly from the children’s plates was gratifying.
Our Final Destination: 100 kilometers later, and we were in busy Casablanca on New Year’s eve, with no dinner reservation, but residing in our first true western-style lodging, at Hotel Husa; ask MEM what their favorite hotel on the trip was, and this is your answer. As for the meal, lucky for us, we found Al Mounia and had an excellent closing dinner.
But there was time left before our January 1 flight, so we walked around the Hassan II Mosque, the largest in Morocco, built in 1993, with a minaret height at 210 meters. Puffy jackets are ready for a wash.
Before departing, we stopped at the Morocco Mall for Rob to channel check a Gap store (did we really do that?). And that’s about all. Mohamed on the left, Driss on the right, not to mention our transport vehicle, before heading to the airport…
Very nice. Thanks for posting