Day Trip to Fes (Fez)
Today we took a lovely day trip to Fes (Fez) with Khadija and had a tour guide showing us all the best parts of the city. I learned in Morocco there are four imperial cities: Fes, Meknes, Marrakech, and Rabat. Each have a color for their city, and the color for Fes is blue. The other interesting thing I learned about colors is that green is the color of peace, which is why most of the mosques have green roofs. Also, when entering the gates of the medina, the tiling is blue on the way in, which means "welcome" and green on her way out, which means "peace". In Fez, there are 857 mosques and 400 fountains, and the city is the oldest imperial city in Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Fez is considered the cultural and spiritual capital of Morocco (the political capital is Rabat).
The first stop along our journey was the Royal Palace of Fez (Dar el Makhzen). This palace has beautiful mosaics of different colors, and there are 360 different patterns used in the palace alone! We walked through the park/garden Jnane Sbil, which means "all are welcome." We then headed to the Medina (old town), of which there are 14 different gates/entryways. We visited the Jewish Quarter, the Melh (mellah), which was fascinating. We also visited the only mosque non-Muslims can visit in Fez, the Bou Inania Madrasa mosque, which was beautiful. We then passed through various markets and shops, which I will reflect on in a later post.
Lastly, we headed to a local Riad, which is a palace with an indoor garden that has rooms for guests (a very fancy hotel/bed and breakfast). We went to Riad Said, which one of Khadija's friends owns. This riad was gorgeous and I hope one day to return and stay there!
Overall, today was a great day!
Today we took a lovely day trip to Fes (Fez) with Khadija and had a tour guide showing us all the best parts of the city. I learned in Morocco there are four imperial cities: Fes, Meknes, Marrakech, and Rabat. Each have a color for their city, and the color for Fes is blue. The other interesting thing I learned about colors is that green is the color of peace, which is why most of the mosques have green roofs. Also, when entering the gates of the medina, the tiling is blue on the way in, which means "welcome" and green on her way out, which means "peace". In Fez, there are 857 mosques and 400 fountains, and the city is the oldest imperial city in Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Fez is considered the cultural and spiritual capital of Morocco (the political capital is Rabat).
The first stop along our journey was the Royal Palace of Fez (Dar el Makhzen). This palace has beautiful mosaics of different colors, and there are 360 different patterns used in the palace alone! We walked through the park/garden Jnane Sbil, which means "all are welcome." We then headed to the Medina (old town), of which there are 14 different gates/entryways. We visited the Jewish Quarter, the Melh (mellah), which was fascinating. We also visited the only mosque non-Muslims can visit in Fez, the Bou Inania Madrasa mosque, which was beautiful. We then passed through various markets and shops, which I will reflect on in a later post.
Lastly, we headed to a local Riad, which is a palace with an indoor garden that has rooms for guests (a very fancy hotel/bed and breakfast). We went to Riad Said, which one of Khadija's friends owns. This riad was gorgeous and I hope one day to return and stay there!
Overall, today was a great day!