In front of the royal palace

Hard at work in the tannery

The Blue Gate to the medina

.FES       Fes was one of the Imperial Cities of Morocco and was so hot -- but worth the effort.. On my first trip there I was warned by friends how I would be hounded by people wanting to be my guide.. I was ready for them and successfully ignore them..

Fes was famous for its medina. The tour book said that you could get lost in it because it was so big.. I thought, "Sure, let me at it!" Well, it wound, twisted, turned, and dead ended.. I was hopelessly lost and couldn't believe the books were right.. The only thing that saved me was that I knew that to get into the medina I came downhill.. I looked for a main road that lead uphill and hoped it would take me in the right direction.. It did.

On another trip Robert Taub, from Casablanca American School, and I roamed the medina and on our own found the tannery.. It was why I came to Fes so I was pleased.

Next, we tried to find Robert's friend, Youssef.. It was especially nice to travel in Morocco once you had made Moroccan connections.. Fes was Robert's connection.. We kind of stumbled on his shop.. What a nice person!. We afternooned at Youssef's home.. Through a winding trail of the medina to a small palace behind a door.. What a treasure!