Fes: the most authentic city of Morocco

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Founded in 789 by Moulay Idriss I, considered the religious and cultural capital of Morocco and known as the most authentic North African cities, Fez is the oldest of the imperial city and, urbanistically speaking, consists of three distinct neighborhoods to each other by type and characteristics of both road building, which are called Fez el Bali (the Medina), Fès el Jedid (the Royal Palace and the Jewish Mellah) and New Town (with the administrative offices). The first two of ancient origin and gathered within the walls and the third built by the French in 1920, with the urban West.

First, some suggestions. For a good visit is useful to be assisted by a local guide who, usually, you can find customers waiting in the lobby of most hotels or by contacting the Office of Tourism which is located in Place de la Résistance. The advantages are many, starting with the visit of the Medina which, without a guide, you and you could easily miss seeing very little, to be able to visit the city without wasting time in seeking the most interesting, because usually the guides using their cars, the ability to save time and money to travel within and on the outskirts of the city. Moreover, the presence of the guide also serves to prevent the insistence of vendors. Our guide to the assistance of a day, including the use of the car has cost $ 40 which I consider well spent. I recommend choosing a guide (they have a special identification card with photo) because the police is not very tender with guides abusive and you can end up in unpleasant situations.

If you are in Fez with an organized trip, the hotel will certainly be included in the package and usually offer the Sheraton Hotel or the Hotel Palais Jamai. If you travel on your behalf, I suggest not to waste money in those hotels (one night at least cost 125/150 euro (and do not have the time to ever use the services available and that you pay type tennis, gym, solarium, golf Riding and field arrangement, etc.). since there are other good hotels, with essential services at a much lower cost. We stayed at Hotel Mounia (to be honest is not that we tried, we stopped to who first inspired us, and it went well), located in New City at 60 Rue Asilah (tel. 05-5650771), a three-star hotel, comfortable rooms, appropriate services, courteous staff and an excellent breakfast, which cost from 20 to 35 euros. What you save in hotel you can spend doing more shopping in the Medina.

Visit Fez el Bali is an experience that I would only say that I recently had to make way for the second time making the experience of the first. A large Medina where the inhabitants, some 100,000 (of which 30,000 crafts), the daily living for themselves and only marginally for tourism, a true and real that has nothing to do with the medinas of Marrakech, Casablanca or Rabat where the tourism side has now taken over. A Medina with houses built to a set against the other, with narrow alleys so as not to allow any motor traffic and transport are made to shoulder all or pushing small carts or, more often, by donkey. A city where you can experience the old traditions, experience the sensation of living the Arab world and, among women who carry the bread to bake in the oven audience, the animation of the people, colors, scents, it seems to be back in history. A city in the city have formed the origin of two quarters (Al Andalous Fez originally inhabited by the refugees coming from Andalusia and Fez Al Quaraouiyin originally inhabited by refugees from Kairouan in Tunisia), in turn divided into many souks of artisans, the most known of which is that of the tanners with large round tanks filled with colors that are dyed skins. Through the guidance (and here we confirm its importance), we managed to go on the terrace (accessible only through the shops and exhibitions), which were taken the classic pictures that have traveled the world. The stench was very strong but so pronounced was the satisfaction of seeing the tanners live to work, the protagonists of the picture that is almost a symbol of Fez. 90% of the shops of the Medina are in the service of local and perhaps this can be good buy, at great prices, of articles of clothing (obviously shaped local), silver (necklaces, bracelets, pins and jewelry in general) in skin (especially handbags) perfumes, spices and ceramics items. As always happens in Arab countries is essential to get a bargain price.

In the visit to visit the Medina deserves Medersa Bou Inan (Koranic school is more important than Fez), the Medersa Attarin (a masterpiece of Mérinide), Quaraouiyine Mosque (the largest of Fez) and the homonymous University (the oldest in the world). An eye in particular in Souk el Attarine (droghieri of shops), the Souk el Henne (shops for beauty products), via the Sidi Youssef (Mosque of the Andalusians and district), the square Nejjarinee (workshops of cabinet makers) with a beautiful fountain decorated pottery and the Museum of the wood, and the Dar Batha, an old building built early last century by Sultan Moulay El Hassan who today has been transformed into a museum of the arts and traditions of the region of Fès. If during the lunch hours visiting the Medina, I suggest a stop at Al Fassa Restaurant at 21 Rue Salaj, Batha near Piazza, an excellent restaurant with typical local cuisine without any concession to re-use tourism.

A Fès el Jedid is the Palazzo Reale, with a golden portal and very well decorated, and its gardens, which extend over an area of 70 hectares, but it is closed to the public even if the king is not hardly ever . There is also what was once the Jewish quarter called Mellah, a set of fairly modest buildings and untidy even dare I say, now inhabited by Muslims.

The third quarter of Fez, the one built by the French, presents an aspect quite different, with a great central avenue around which spilled over the new city with wide streets and spacious squares, and where the main public buildings, large hotels, restaurants, shops, cafes, bars, in short, a residential area very orderly but devoid of any historical or artistic.

Leaving the tour, the best way to get to Fez is from Casablanca to meet with one of the flights of the Royal Air Maroc and Alitalia from Milan or Rome (about 390 euros). Fez is about 220 km from Casablanca and can be reached by train (approx. 4 hours) and bus (the schedule includes 4 hours, but well planned one more hour. We have used 6, but the bus was had a problem with the brakes). There is also a flight from Casablanca in the evening, but I do not think it appropriate to take into account.

Before you leave, you can get more information at the offices of the National Tourism of Morocco which is located in Milan, in Via Larga, 23, tel. 02 58303756, fax 02 58303970, E-mail: turismo.Marocco @ tin.it - The Embassy of the Morocco