Have you heard of the red, flat-topped felt hat called fez?
This traditional Moroccan piece of clothing got its name from Fès, the former capital of Morocco.
That’s where we’ll wander today.
Fès is a glimpse into the Tales of Thousand and One Nights.
In Fès, you can immerse yourself in the exotic atmosphere of centuries past.
Anyone traveling here feels like they have entered the world of Thousand and One Nights — a world once ruled by caliphs and sultans, where camel caravans brought goods from distant lands to be sold.
The two Medinas of Fès
We traveled by train from Marrakech to Melilla, then back to Fès, Morocco’s old capital, now the country’s second-largest city.
We had booked a riad in the old town, known as the Medina, but Fès has two medinas.
Our riad was in the older of the two, Fès al-Bali, a UNESCO World Heritage site founded at the end of the 8th century.
With nearly 160,000 residents, this district is reportedly the largest car-free urban area in the world.
Stepping out of the train in Fès, we were uncertain of which direction to take to make it to the old town.
To be sure, we grabbed a taxi.
However, we didn’t take a ride from the pushy drivers waiting at the station, but instead hailed a taxi a little further down the street.
Of course, the taxi couldn’t drive into the car-free medina, so the driver dropped us off in front of one of its gates.
From the square, we wandered into the medina through a gate almost as small as a home door.
We felt like entering another world, another time.
If Medina of Marrakech felt exotic, now we were truly in the tales of Thousand and One Nights — a world once governed by caliphs and sultans, where camel caravans brought goods from faraway countries to be sold here.
A path through the dim evening
The vast, almost entirely covered medina is a winding and hilly maze of alleys, though there are a few larger main streets.
Between the closely packed shops and stalls, there are small eateries and large mosques, where crowds glide out into the dark evening after prayer.
Sometimes, the path leads through ancient gates, and in the dim evening, in the light of the lamps, the atmosphere is magical.
Very few people try to force you to buy their products, and the only ones interested in tourists are the young boys who want to take pictures with you.
Or those who offer to lead you, in a wish to earn a few coins.
How to find your accommodation in Fès
Finding our riad in the maze turned out to be surprisingly difficult, and it turns out that our taxi driver had dropped us off on the wrong side of the medina.
Eventually, we let two men guide us to our destination.
They asked for a generous tip and said they’d buy coffee with it. We laughed and said that coffee must be expensive here, and paid them a lot less.
We knocked on the door of the riad.
No one appeared, so we stepped inside.
We set off to look for the staff, and when we found them, they told us they hadn’t heard of our reservation.
They offered us mint tea, and shortly after, we were informed that the place was fully booked, but they could arrange a stay at another riad.
A teenage girl expertly led us through the labyrinth of Fès to our new accommodation.
We weren’t particularly thrilled with the change, the new riad felt a bit unsettled though the host was friendly.
This riad was not unsafe, but with guests sitting in the courtyard, drinking with the owners, it didn’t exactly feel like home.
A surprisingly successful guided dinner
It was late, and on the way to the new riad, we had anxiously looked at the closed doors of shops and restaurants, wondering if we’d be able to find any food.
However, when we arrived, we were offered the chance to have dinner at a restaurant, with a waiter coming to pick us up from the riad.
We chose to do that and had a very affordable three-course meal on the restaurant’s rooftop terrace with views of the surrounding hills.
The waiter naturally escorted us back as well.
The host offered to get us a bottle of wine.
We said yes please, as all the other guests were drinking, and the atmosphere called for something stronger than mint tea.
The host bought a bottle for himself as well.
No towels for a newly unemployed
As we enjoyed wine in the courtyard, the man mentioned that one of his relatives owned a restaurant in Helsinki. He showed us proof with photos on his phone.
The next morning came the dreaded phone call: I had been laid off due to company-wide restructuring.
The timing was fitting — there were no towels, and no shower in our bathroom, and the bathtub was missing its stopper, so our ability to clean ourselves was limited.
That’s how our nomadic life began.
New Riad in Fès
We had a decent breakfast – included in the room price – and then booked our next place to stay. Riad Blanc de Fès, a place owned by a Frenchman was located near the famous Blue Gate.
Unlike the two-story riads of Marrakech, the riads in Fès are multi-storeyed and maze-like.
Blanc de Fès is appropriately white, inside and out.
We were shown a spacious and bright room on the top floor.
Our spirits lifted immediately, especially after we visited the sun-drenched rooftop terrace and admired the views of the surrounding hills.
The host’s love of music was evident in the riad’s décor, and he was eager to chat with the guests.
How to find your way in Fès
Medina of Fès initially seemed hopelessly confusing. Though magnificent in its chaos, by the second day, we had figured out the main route through it.
It leads to the major souks and onward to the famous Blue Gate, Bab Bou Jeloud, which was built in 1913 and stands in front of a huge water reservoir built in the 12th century.
The original gate from the same era stood here, and along the main road is the University of Al-Karaouine, founded in 859.
A good way to orient yourself is to pay attention to the shops at the junctions and corners.
“We’ll turn left at the corner where that food stall is,” or, coming from the other direction, “turn right at the clock shop.”
We also learned that there are drinking fountains from the 1300s along the streets, and many houses in the city had running water a couple of centuries earlier.
Eat camel and get lost
We love to try exotic burgers (actually any food exotic) and knew there was a famous place for camel burgers in Fès. We needed to tick that off from our foodie travelers’ bucket list.
Trendy Café Clock’s rooftop terrace is the place to taste a camel burger. It was delicious, though not the best burger we’ve swallowed, but still definitely a must-try.
As evening fell, a rider on horseback appeared around the corner, like a vision from the past.
There were donkeys on the streets here too.
Fès is considered one of the best-preserved and restored old cities in the Arab and Muslim world. It’s easy to believe.
Fès is no open-air museum, nor a tourist trap.
The locals live their lives without paying unnecessary attention to foreigners, but Moroccan friendliness and hospitality are strong.
A young man greeted us on the street and asked where we were from.
We skeptically replied telling him we were from Finland, wondering if he was offering a paid guide service or some other business venture.
No, neither.
“Welcome to Morocco!” he called out in English and continued his way.
Next stop from Fès: Chefchaouen – Morocco’s Mystical Blue Pearl
Written by Ismo
Edit & photos by Tanja