It’s the 2nd day in Fes, and I can’t wait for this evening, when Betty arrives in Fes and joins me for a Moroccan weekend.
Having more that 10 hours before Betty arrives, I decided to first check out what Fes has to offer. Armed with a map, I was keen to take a different route from yesterday (despite warning from the riad staff to stick to the other route, since it looked shorter on the map), and try my luck walking through the complicated and windy narrow roads of the Medina – hopefully without getting lost!
I felt small in the narrow alleyways, squeezed between the tall brown sandy and concrete like walls, as every corner I turned looked almost alike.
A young boy approached and asked if I needed help, and I told him that I would like to get to the famous Blue Gate in the Medina.
So he asked that I followed closely behind him while he walked in front of me, turning from one bend to another.
We passed by beautiful arch and doorways, and saw craftsmen working in shops of different trades, such as carpentry and weaving, walked past a couple of mosques (non-muslims are not allowed from entering most of the mosques), and even donkeys sharing the same narrow streets.
The young boy subsequently brought me to a place called Riad Moqri, an old palace with beautiful courtyards and passageways, which has now been converted to an Institute for Traditional Works, where young technicians are trained on the heritage restoration and on the traditional artisan techniques (e.g. zellij, sculpture, glass decoration), and showed me the inside.
As we left Riad Moqri, there were a couple of times we seemed to be back tracking on certain routes, and feeling I was being brought on a tour rather than being directed to where I wanted to go, I emphasised and insisted to the young boy on getting me to the Blue Gate.
Within a couple of minutes, he pointed down an alley and said to walk along and turn left at the end. However just before I could leave, he insisted that I paid him some money.
I had ran out of small notes, and pulled out some loose change equivalent to S$1 to give him. He got very upset and said that it was not enough and that he deserved more (an equivalent to S$10).
I told him that the amount was ridiculous, and I had no more money on me, as it had already been spent on the admission into Riad Moqri, a place where I had not planned to be visiting when I left my riad this morning. Neither did I ask for a tour, so he could either choose to accept what I had in my hand, or I will just take it with me and leave.
Still in the alleyway of the medina without much human traffic, there was some concern on my part that he may turn nasty, but I stood firm on my offer.
He seemed wary of being seen too close to me, and I recalled the words of the British riad staff on the proximity of foreigners being seen with local Moroccans. So I braved up and was about to leave with the loose change, when he stopped me and took the money from my hand unhappily and walked away.
To be honest, I was still lost and couldn’t pinpoint where I was on the map, so I asked a couple of shopkeepers to point me towards the Blue Gate (yes, I still have not reached!). Keeping to the main crowded street, I soon found myself walking through a market before arriving in a big square bustling with activity.
Feeling hot and thirsty from the heat, I walked to a nearby orange juice stand and ordered an orange juice while I tried to find my bearings from the map. Another guy who was having an orange juice next to me, said “The Blue Gate is that way”.
I thanked him and we started talking. Mustafa asked where I was from, and how long I was staying in Fes. I found out that he owned a restaurant nearby and was building a Riad, and was taking a break at the orange juice store after running around the whole morning getting supplies for the Riad.
He invited me to visit his restaurant since it was nearby, and seeing that he seemed very friendly and nice, and also considering that I needed some options for dinner when Betty arrives, I obliged. We walked towards the restaurant, located next to the market place. It was a four storey building, and at the top, it had a great view of the medina.
Despite turning down the invitation a few times, he insisted that I stayed for at least a drink, a typical Moroccan hospitality. Not wanting to be rude, I stayed for a glass of mint tea, a typical Moroccan drink.
Mustafa subsequently showed me his Riad, about a stone throw away from his restaurant that was still in the midst of construction, and subsequently offered to show me around the city of Fes on his motorbike.
I still had a few hours left before Betty arrive, so I agreed, and we hopped on his motorbike for a cruise outside Fes medina. We first headed to the King’s Palace, before stopping by the Mausoleum, and lastly a quick stop at his friend’s shop.
It was at his friend’s shop that I saw these strange solid grey shaped materials being sold. Out of curiosity, I asked what they were and was told it was shampoo and hair mask! So weird!
We were subsequently invited by Mustafa’s friends inside the shop for a drink, where we were served a glass of mint tea.
There were some moments of awkwardness while waiting for Mustafa’s friend to attend to us, as Mustafa started getting a little too close for comfort. I pulled away and subsequently asked to leave on the pretence that I had to meet Betty early.
I was totally unaware of where I was, and not knowing how to get back, I had to get Mustafa to send me back. Luckily I managed to get back to my Riad without any issues, and quickly collected my luggage and made my way to another Riad, which Betty had booked for the Fes weekend.
What a day!
No comments:
Post a Comment