Fes

Fes is considered the cultural capitol of Morocco and after exploring the maze of the medina we can see why.  The people here strive to keep their crafts alive and to maintain the traditional way of doing things.  You won't see a machine doing the work here.  Individuals inherit their jobs from their parents spend most of their life perfecting their craft.  Fes is most known for its pottery and leather goods.

In the morning we met up with our tour guide for the day, Aziz, and headed out to the attractions outside of the medina.  We traveled first to the palace (The king has a palace in each major city).  There, again, we took photos of the beautiful gate as Aziz gave us information about the meaning behind the different materials used.  From there we walked down one of the remaining Jewish areas of the city.  Here the architecture was vastly different with balconies overlooking the street and wood being used instead of plaster.

Ceramics are one of the only crafts that has moved outside of the medina.  Clay is brought in and tempered until it is the right texture for shapping.  From there artists use a pottery wheel and a well trained eye to shape pitchers, tangines and bowls out of the clay.  Firing occurs in two stages; first to harden the clay and second to add glaze.  In between these steps painters use fine tipped brushes crafted out of horse hair to draw detailed designs on the pottery.  Their attention to detail and accuracy amazed me as none of them used stencils and each plate was identical.

So many pots to look at!

Inside the pottery centered we watched a few men chip away at colored tiles to form the detailed shapes of mosaics.  These mosaics are layed out upside down and then concrete is poured.  Artistians must be exact as there is no room for error once the concrete is poured and no one knows what it will look like exactly till it has set.  These mosaics are then made into mirrors, sinks, fountains, etc.

We had a chance to browse the shop at the end of the tour.  Everything was so beautiful and I was overwhelmed by the number of choices.  In the end I didn't end up getting anything but Josh picked up a beautiful piece outlined with metal detail.

From here we headed to a fort overlooking the city.  You could make out the different sections from the old medina to the ville noville. I was surprised the drastic change from section to section.  The differences were even more clear later on in the day when we were able to go into the ville noville.  We could have been in any U.S. city!

Us overlooking the Fes medina

After getting a bird's eye view of the town, we headed into the narrow streets of the medina.  First walking through the food market.  Stalls were overflowing with olives and meats, veggies and fresh fruit, sweets and pastries to eat.  The medina seemed to be set up in sections as we wandered into the metal works and heard the banging of hammers on steel drums.  Here you could find anything from a tea set to an old sword.

We passed by the second largest mosque in Morocco.  This mosque can hold 20,000 at capacity and has 14 doors to make entrance from the medina easier.  We weren't able to enter but got a few photos from the doorway.

One of the entryways into the mosque

With our senses on overload, we followed Aziz to the tanning section of the medina.  This was a site I wanted to see since I read about it in the guide book but I was worried about the smell.  The pigeon poop and cow dung used to remove the fur from the hides was supposed to put off a pretty powerful odor.  Lucky for us it really wasn't so bad.  I think the combination of the mint they gave us to smell and the lack of wind really helped.  Down below our balcony, men stood waist deep in vats of red and yellow dye.  I was impressed how they could easily walk between the narrow vats in their large rubber boots carrying a number of skins at a time.  Some of the skins were placed on the roofs to dry while others were taken to the few open grass spots in the medina to lay out in the sun.  With an all natural process, workers had to rely on the sun to dry out the hides.  The dyes themselves were also all natural.  Red was made from red poppy plants.  Blue from indigo and yellow from saffron and oil

The tanneries inside the medina

After taking a few photos, Josh and I browsed the selection at the shop.  We knew we wanted to get a few pieces but didn't think we would come away with as much as we did.  I ended up getting some pretty amazing leather boots and a beautiful handbag.  Josh scooped up a belt and a really neat "poof" that had a camel hand-stitched into the leather.

All the shoes on display

From the tanneries we grabbed a quick bite to eat and then visited a craft museum.  Even though the descriptions were only in French and Arabic, we were able to see a lot of the old artifacts of Fes.  It was neat to see how they had evolved to what they were today.

The inside of the museum

Then we headed to the madrasa or Koran school.  This school dates back to approximately 200 AD.   From the outside it didn't seem like much but once inside we were able to admire the beautiful designs of the arches and mosaics.

An beautiful arch in the medrasa

Our last stop of the day was a quick trip to an antique showcase house.  Even though we knew we couldn't afford anything in the house it was nice to be allowed to browse a bit.  There were marble chairs and very detailed wooden furniture.  Old Berber jewelry lined display cabinets and Jewish artifacts dated back to the 17th century.

After an exhausting day in the medina, we dropped off Aziz and headed back to the riad.  The next day would be a lot of traveling as we made our way from Fes all the way to Merzouga on the edge of the Sahara.

Our riad in Fes

A valentines dinner

Rabat

Today started off early as we headed to the Mausoleum of Mohammed, the current king's father.  The mausoleum was beautifully decorated with marble and mosaic tile.  We were starting to realize this ornate decoration was just a part of Moroccan architecture.  At the mausoleum, a guard stood post at every entrance to the square structure as well as in all four corners of the interior of the building.  It just shows you how much respect Moroccans have for their royalty.

Outside the mausoleum gates.  

Outside of the Mausoleum, the Haasain Tower stood in the near distance.  The tower and the mosque were started but construction stopped with the funder passed away.  The remains of the mosque were destroyed when an earthquake hit in the 1700s.  Its kind of neat to walk among the pillars and crumbling walls with the prestige, modern Mausoleum in the background.

Inside the Mausoleum

After the Mausoleum we headed to the royal palace, to get a few snapshots of the beautiful grounds.  The palace is constructed of many buildings and no one is quite sure which one the king stays in.  At the gate we were quickly told we couldn't go past a certain point for security purposes.  As with all buildings in the city, the entrances were tiled arches with intricate detail as well as script from the Koran.

Josh outside the palace gates

From there we headed to Kasbah Chellah.  A Kasbah is a term for a fortified city.  There is usually a high surrounding wall and few gates.  This Kasbah was one of the few remaining in the city and was crumbling in many places. We hired a guide and walked among the paths exploring the ruins.  Storks had invaded the site and their nests could be seen in just about every high point still remaining.  The "clacking" of their beaks was the soundtrack to our visit.

There used to be a bronze head on this statue so I filled in.

Within the Kasbah

After a long morning in Rabat, we headed to Meknes to grab a quick bite to eat and see some of the important sights.  We are starting to get used the huge portions served at lunch and dinner.  Every meal is served in three courses which usually includes lots of Morocco salads, a tangine and fruits for dessert.  A la Carte menu has become our new favorite thing!

Besides lunch we did a quick driving tour of the city stopping by Bab Mansour gate and the sultans palace.  The sultan was rumored to have had 12,000 horses.  With that many horses, comes large buildings to store grain and large ponds for water.  The compound seemed to go on forever.

Bab Mansour gate

Heading out of Meknes, we set off for Volubis.  Volubis was the southern most Roman stronghold and was actually still inhabited until an earthquake leveled the city in the 1700's.  We got to walk among the ruins and tried to imagine what this city used to look like in its prime.  Many of the larger structures are still in place such as the imperial gate and church.  Not much of the smaller houses remain except some beautiful mosaic work.  Some of the best pieces tell stories of Hercules conquests and how a man was drawn away from his wife by two beautiful nymphs.

Josh standing in the ruins of the bascilla

Me playing tour guide within the ruins

After walking around the site for a little over an hour we decided it was time to head to Fes for the night.  Once there we checked into our riad and were shown up the winding staircase to our room at the top of the house.  We were exhausted but wanted to get out of the hotel for dinner that night.  Luckily we were able to find a great little riad close to ours that served Moroccan dishes and best yet had these great heaters next to your table.  Its cold here!

Looking down the main road of the ruins

The sun sets over the ruins

More columns

Looking back on it the day seemed like a whirlwind traveling from city to city.  We were looking forward to spending the next day exploring Fes a bit and wandering through the maze of the Medina.

*photos by Josh

Casablanca

Our trip started off smoothly as we took off for Casablanca via Dubai.  The flight was short by our standards; only a measly five hours in the sky.  After landing we indulged in the duty free shops Dubai is known for and grabbed a quick coffee and breakfast.  You don't realize how much you miss Starbucks until its gone.

Then it was back on the plane for the longer part of our journey.  This next leg was 9 hours. (They really should have direct flights to Morocco from Nairobi.  I mean we probably doubled our travel time by having to go through Dubai.)  The flight was good.  We both were able to get a few more hours of sleep and the food wasn't half bad.

Immigration was a breeze as the immigration officer quickly stamped our passports without a second look.  Getting our bags was another story.  I don't know why it always takes hours to get bags off of planes and why my bag seems to always be the last one to arrive.  An unlucky draw I guess!  Customs wasn't bad except for having to shove our way into the line.  I think its safe to say that Moroccans do this more than Kenyans!  Good thing our line skills are honed :)

We were greeted by our tour guide, Mohammed, and then we were off to explore Casablanca.  Despite the rainy weather, we were excited to check out the Haasain II Mosque.  The Mosque is the second largest in the world, second only to Mecca. It comfortably holds 25,000 worshipers (20,000 men and 5,000 women) and is frequently filled to capacity on Fridays.  We got some amazing shots of the beautiful marble exterior and the detailed mosaic tile work.  I was just in awe of the grandeur and size of the building.

The minert at the Haassin II Mosque

The outside courtyard at the mosque

Trying to find the entrance was an experience as Josh almost ended up in the women's restroom.  To our disappointment though we were told that the inside was closed to visitors for the day.  Lucky for us a man approached us and said he could show us the inside.  We agreed as we wouldn't have the chance to come back another day.

The inside is just as amazing as the outside.  Marble imported from Voulbis and glass from Italy make up the majority of the inside structure.  Each supporting column is carved in a repeating mosaic which is then hand painted.  About 10,000 craftsmen worked day and night for 6 years to complete the entire structure.

Beautiful tile work at the Mosque

One of the grand doors leading into the woman's section

We were shown upstairs to the women's section where we could overlook the main portion of the Mosque (Non-Muslims are not allowed in the main structure of the Mosque.).  There we could observe an Islam class taking place and see the parts of the floor which are glass.  These sections are built directly over the sea and the water can be seen crashing up on the rocks.

More of the courtyard

Josh in front of the doors

The area outside of the mosque.  Gloomy skies above!

The ocean crashing onto the shore in Casablanca.

From Casablanca, the economic hub of Morocco, we headed to Rabat, the capitol.  Our Riad, or hotel, was beautiful.  The house had an open-roofed medina with rooms off the center.  We loved having the place to ourselves despite it being a bit chilly.

We weaved our way through the narrow streets to find some dinner.  We found this great little place that served traditional Moroccan dishes but still printed the menu in English. (We're quickly learning that English doesn't get you far here!) Josh ordered a chicken, lemon and olive tagine.  A tagine is a traditional dish here and can be ordered a variety of ways, with potatoes, lamb, chicken, olives, etc. What makes the dish a tagine is the pot its served in.  They are usually made out of clay and consist of a flat-ish bowl with a cone shaped cover.  Sometimes the dish is cooked in this pot as well.  I got couscous with chicken, raisins and onions.  It was delicious!  The raisins gave it a touch of sweet yet the spices in the dish gave it that hearty, rustic feeling.

After an exhausting day of travel and exploring, we headed back to the Riad for the night.  I'm so glad that we brought warm clothes as we had to bundle up for the night.  I hope as we travel south the temperatures start to warm up a bit.

Our room for the night

Overall we're loving Morocco so far.  I thought it would be similar to Kenya but we're finding that its more Mediterranean and U.S. like.  The roads are paved and the cities have all the conveniences of any modern city.  Tomorrow we will explore a bit of Rabat before heading to Meknes and Voulbis, ending up in Fes for the night.

Morocco Here We Come!

After a few stressful days of forms and frequent phone calls, yesterday we heard that we have approval to travel to Morocco!  This is an answer to our prayers! We are so excited and this travel confirmation definitely made us realize that our trip is around the corner.  I can't even imagine what its going to be like to explore this new country and culture.  I expect to just be in awe of the sand dunes in the desert and the mosques and monuments in the larger cities.  I am also just really excited to get away with Josh and spend some quality time together.  This is a trip we'll always remember!

The President's Message to Kenya

In light of the upcoming elections, President Obama has released a statement to the Kenyan people urging peace and a fair vote.  I think this was really well done by the white house and hope it goes far to encourage the people of Kenya to strive toward a peaceful democracy.   

Super Bowl and Life Lately

Life around the Bast household has been a little busy and stressful as of late.  Josh learned that he needs to submit a bit of paperwork before we are cleared to go to Morocco.  This process usually takes about a month and we are trying to do it in 10 days.  Please pray that the paperwork gets processed quickly and we can head out on our honeymoon in a week.  

This week our car also took a turn for the worse.  For those of you who have kept up with my blog you know that Lucy, our car, has a bit of a temperament.  She chooses to work when she wants and when she breaks, she breaks.  After Josh rolled the car in 2010, we have had to replace doors, suspensions, transmissions, etc.  Our latest repair was a complete over hall of the transmission.  This week we had a mechanic come in from Nairobi to work on a few minor issues.  While the car was in his car it stopped working.  After a lot of frustration, we learned that the oil pump in the transmission failed.  We should be able to get it fixed but this requires us to bring our other transmission back from Nairobi. (It was there for people to look at it.  We're hoping to sell it.) Needless to say this can't happen till Thursday at the earliest.  You can see our frustration.  With only a few more months left here we are again pouring more money into her.  Please pray that this goes as smoothly as possible and isn't a major dent to our wallet.  

The Super Bowl was this weekend and I'm sure many of you have already seen it.  Us on the other hand, have not.  We had these big plans of staying up to do so but sleep got the best of us.  I made some Super Bowl treats (meatballs and queso dip) and we watched the pregame stuff up till about 1am.  At one we decided a short nap was in order and Josh set the alarm for the start of the game.  3 hours later we finally wake up and the game is already in the third quarter.  Fail!  Instead of catching the end we decided to try to catch it today.  A bit of a stretch as people are posting a ton about the winner and the highlights online.  I'm ok with knowing but Josh hates it. The game is currently on but Josh had to head to work so we will be waiting till 8 pm tonight.  I'm just hoping no one spoils it for him.  

Life has its ups and downs and its in these trials that we learn and grow.  Even though its been a bit of a stressful week, life is good.  And I think that's all I have to say about that...