The Beautiful City of Fes

Yesterday, I returned to Rabat from a three-day journey to Fes and Ifrane. I spent about a day and a half in Fes. Fes is the city that people think of when they think of Morocco. Long winding streets, beautiful mosques and aggressive shopkeepers are prevalent. In Fez, I bought two beautiful hands of Fatima’s. The hand of Fatima is a uniquely Moroccan piece of jewelry and decoration. It is supposed to be a ward against the evil eye. The evil eye is similar to bad luck. The hand of Fatima is also known as Khamsa (or five in Arabic). Also, I bought several nice kūfiyyāt. I would really love to find a tagelmust. A tagelmust is a scarf that covers the face and head. It is somewhat similar to a ten-foot long scarf. It is worn by the Tuareg people of the Sahara. Besides this, my friends bought the things that Fez is really known for i.e. pottery and paintings. The hotel we stayed in was absolutely gorgeous. It was a traditional Moroccan villa with a potted plants and a small pool in the center. Around this are the rooms we stayed in. Below are several pictures I took from the top of the villa.

Also, while we were in Fes, we stopped in an old Mosque. It was very beautiful. To me, it was reminiscent of Ibn Tulun in Egypt. Pictures are below.

I think I've really changed as a result of my exposure to Moroccan life and culture. From a person who knew no Arabic when I started, I'm now able to communicate in broken phrases. To an outsider, this may seem like a small step but from the inside, it has been dozens of hours of work. Additionally, I've been able to use a lot of French. I've had to discuss theology, evolution, culture and politics to name but a few. But despite my use of French, I don’t think that it has served as a crutch. Rather, I believe it has rendered me the ability to communicate more effectively and has served as a foil with which to learn Arabic. Without French, I would not be able to communication with my family. Also, I would like to think my French is perfect. However, while I have the accent and know the vocabulary of pure French, I have never been to a country where it was spoken as one of the primary languages. While I’m here, I’m speaking more than I ever have before. I really like the Arabic/ French mix here in Morocco. I think it is interesting what words Darija has taken from French and adopted as its own. I vastly prefer Darija over Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). To me, MSA lacks feeling. When you speak Darija, it feels real and alive.

I would really love to come back to Morocco to learn Darija proper. In fact, I would love to spend the next three or four years in Morocco, Egypt, and Syria (once it quiets down). 

The City of Fes

A pottery shop in Fes.

A mosque in Morocco.