Discovering Fès

Fès was a big change from the places we’d been until now. I told the kids to prepare for sensory overload, but nothing can quite prepare you for 39C heat, not to mention the sights and sounds of the city within the Medina.

Fès is a beautiful and historic city with the biggest pedestrian-only area in the world. It’s been designated a UNESCO world heritage site and we were so fortunate to spend six nights in the heart of it all. It has more than 9,000 streets and more than 400 neighbourhoods.

We stayed in a traditional Dar, which is like a Riad, a house that is opened inwards. It has no windows facing the outside. A Riad has a garden in it while a Dar does not. There is a centre main area when you walk in, which is open all the way to the ceiling and to the outside.

Homeschool in the main, centre room:

Looking up:

Around it are the bedrooms on the second floor, overlooking the main area. There are also small nooks in several rooms that you take a ladder to get to.

Here are the kids reading in the nook off the main living room, with Jon down below.

There are also two staircases and two kitchens - one on the main floor and one on the top, right by the doorway to the rooftop terrace, where we had breakfast but avoided the rest of the time because it was unbearably hot.

The house is designed this way to keep the heat out. It works amazingly. It was so hot the week we were there that we really appreciated how the house stays cool.

This Dar was purchased by a British couple in 2006 and was a complete mess at the time. They tastefully restored it and included some beautiful local touches. Everyday I would notice something different, and marvelled at the unique features of the house.

We were right in the Medina, and spent our mornings wandering the streets and our afternoons keeping cool and doing homeschool. We also went on a cultural tour to learn about some of the local craftsmen, many of whom do amazing, intricate work, but are among the only ones in Fès to be doing it.

We saw men making leather cushions that you sit on (puffs)…

… using animal skin to make instruments…

… And probably the most impressive was the making of fabric using a loom. Here, two people work together, using their hands and feet to create beautiful, detailed pieces of cloth that are like works of art.

The Medina itself is like a maze, with narrow streets full of people selling everything from knock-off sneakers to carpets to perfume to pottery.

There is so much to look at and take in, but you have to keep your wits about you because you never know when someone will come by behind you pushing a cart or walking with a donkey.

The Medina is also designed with high walls and narrow streets to keep the sun out and thus making it much cooler than on the main streets. Still, it was a lot. We all felt a bit overwhelmed at times, but enjoyed the experience and how unique it was. We had fun getting lost then finding our way back again, discovering new places, recognizing landmarks and shopping for friends and family.

I absolutely love all the tiles and woodwork and colours.

We checked out the tannery where they die leather in the scorching hot sun.

Ella and I got henna tattoos.

And the food was excellent: salads, tajine, couscous and so much more.

It was a fabulous educational experience for all of us, pushing us to discover new things and understanding how so many other people live.