Fes Day Two

Our second day in Fes was a jam-packed tour of all the artisans Fes is famous for--leather tannery, wood carving, ceramics, carpet making, cloth weaving, you name it! We hired an official guide from the tourist office which I highly recommend--we had read in the guide books that this was the way to go and I agree. He was very knowledgeable and took us to see many of the mosques and koranic schools and also the mausoleum where the founder of Fes' body is interred. As we are non-Muslim we were not allowed to go inside the mausoleum or the mosques, but we could take pictures from outside.

When we went to the various artisans there was usually someone there who spoke English who gave us a description of what goes on in the cooperative. All the cooperatives were at least partially government funded and the guides are all paid by the government, so while there was a sales pitch, it wasn't high preassure and everyone was still very nice when we said "no." I've included some pictures here from the ceramics co--op and the tannery.

In the afternoon our driver took us up to a location where we got panoramic views of Fes. It's a large city and quite sprawling surrounded by beautiful countryside. Morocco is a beautiful country--I'd love to come back again and see more of it.

Today, our last full day in the country, we plan to go to the Batha Museum which is close by before catching the train back to Casablanca. It's cool today and the weather forecast calls for rain off and on, so it'll be a good day to stay inside and for long train rides.

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