Day19

Meals are served in the roof top terrace dining room. I went up for breakfast at 8:00 AM and was the first person there. I said everyone must be sleeping in and was told that breakfast did not start until 8:30. I didn't know this because I had just dropped my bags the day before and not had the typical orientation they provide upon arrival. I was given a cup of coffee and helped myself to some of the bread and such on the table while waiting for the others. The table was all magnificently laid with blue and white dishes the traditional colours of Fes pottery; the oranges stood bold on the table as sunlight filtered in over the feast. An Australian woman and her daughter were the next to arrive and told me of their purchases yesterday. They had bought 10 fezzes which they were bringing home and were going to host a party complete with Moroccan food and hats. I said I thought the Fez was a hat from Turkey; I was sooo wrong. The fez is a tall pillbox style hat in red felt with a tassle. Until 1826, the fez was found only in the Maghreb region. The Maghreb is generally described as the land between the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea (which included Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Lybia). It was only after Sultan Mahmud II decreed in 1826 that the fez was to be the official hat of his modernized military that its use spread and was used as the headdress of other military forces. Originally the fez was red, white or black in colour and had a turban wrapped around it; the turban was later dropped. In fact the fez proved to be a serious disadvantage in war as the red had made a great target on top of the head and without a brim proved useless for shielding the eyes. The name of the hat, of course, comes from the name of the City of Fes which had a monopoly on the manufacture of the caps.

Mohammed, our house "boy" brought out heaps of carrot marmalade to go with our bagettes and Moroccan pancakes. Several people remarked that they had seen it being made in the kitchen (behind my room) the day before. There were slices of banana with sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on top, boiled brown eggs, donuts with granular sugar and then Mohammed's specialty, a salsa of fried tomatoes, peppers, onions and spices which had a momentary kick at the end.

It was agreed I would join Ryan and Kristen in the lobby for a tour with a guide. Akmed, an older gentleman, arrived to lead us on a tour which seemed to be a series of loops through the streets nearest the riad. None of us but Akmed knew exactly where we were. He gave us his open and frank opinion on the Moroccan monarchy (I was surprised that he had not been jailed or killed for his views of the current leader and his political allies). He took us through the dyers souk which I had visited yesterday and said the dyers are being forced out by metal workers moving into the alleyway. The dirt of the metalwork is not compatible with the dying of yarns and cloth. He lead us through markets all the time stopping to chat with vendors along the way; I bought nuts and raisins to snack on as we explored the warren of small passageways in this ancient city. He told us there are 6,000 buildings held up by braces and scaffolding because they cannot be demolished since Fes is a UNESCO world heritage site and the owners do not have the money to fix them (many 500 years old). Akmed lead us to the infamous tanneries of Fes, or rather to a leather shop which had a rooftop view of the tannery next door from which we could take pictures. It was difficult to escape the clutches of the sales people as we left the roof and exited through the gift shop. Akmed suggested we have lunch somewhere, when I said I thought it was a 1/2 day tour, he quickly said "I'll take you back to the riad.", which he promptly did. We paid him 50 dh (the official price) and a 10 dh tip each.

I wanted to find out about a cooking class I could take at one of the restaurants in the area I lunched yesterday so set off to find the Clock Tower Cafe. I set off and 15 minutes later discovered I had arrived at the place I started. I left in another direction only to have the same thing happen again as I got lost in the maze of streets twisting and turning. A little frustrated, I set out a 3rd time this time connecting with the main "street" I had been looking for yesterday, but never found. When I say street it is really a pedestrian passageway about 3 or 4 metres wide filled with people and all sorts of goods spilling from the adjacent shops. I walked up and up looking for the cafe, soon I passed out the other side and since I was close by Musee Batham checked to see if it was open, but it is closed Tuesdays. I checked my map and upon re-entering the Medina stumbled onto Ryan and Kristen. They were looking for the Clock Tower Cafe because Kristen had read they made the best lemon tarts to be found anywhere. Together and with some directions from a street merchant we found the cafe. I found out there was no one registered for the class on Wednesday; they were willing to offer a class for me the price would be 1,000 dh or if I could find someone else to attend the price would be 60 dh each. I thought the idea of doing the class would be more fun if there was a group since it involved meeting preparing a meal plan, going out to the market for the food and then preparing it together and finally sitting to eat the fruits of our labours. With only me in the class, the appeal was gone and I decided to do other things on Wednesday.

I had told Mohammed that I would have supper at the riad this evening. At 8 PM there was a call for dinner and I went up to the roof top dining room. I was surprised to find plenty of company as the British couple, Calvin and Liz, were there and Ryan and Kristen were already seated at the big table. Places were set for the Belgian couple, but they never arrived. Tonight our server was Said. He brought out 8 plates (2 of each kind) beet salad, carrot salad, tomato/pepper/cucumber salad and mashed potatoes with chives- all traditional Moroccan salads and served with ample wedges of the thin round loaves of bread. When were already full on those, Said brought out an enormous tagine of turkey. The whole dish was raised high when the cover was removed; it had ample amounts of celery (steamed to a very soft texture) which added to the most wonderful compote of flavors. I think I had a leg and thigh in my portion. We five shared 3 split bottles of wine (red and rose). Dessert arrived - cups of fresh fruits salad atop a sweet dollop of natural yoghurt. Then tea and coffee was served all the way around. Fully satisfied, I looked at my watch and was surprised to see it was already after 10 PM - where had the time gone, the whole meal had been a ceremony more than 2 hours long. I left the table for my room and read quitely in bed before dousing the light.