Fes : Monday 8th - Tuesday 9th January 2007

Before I arrived in Fes, I planned to stay there for 3 nights as Fes is a big city. I soon changed my mind when I did arrive there, to 2 nights. Firstly the hotel where I stayed at, the Hotel Mauritania, which is supposed to be the cheapest, was 80Dh a night for a small pokey cell of a room. That's only 5 pounds I know, but compared to some of the places I've stayed in - it was a rip-off. The city itself isn't a very pleasant place either.

Fes is made up 3 bits. There's Fes el Bali, where the old Medina & Mellah (former Jewish bit) is; then Fes el Djedid, which is inbetween the French built Ville Nouvelle both geographically and physically in appearance. You can't really stay in Fes el Djedid because there aren't any hotels there; it's mainly parks, squares and a few residences. So you can either stay in the Smoggy Ville Nouvelle a taxi ride away from the sights in the Medina; or in the expensive, full of hassles Fes el Bali (but close to the bus station). Expensive wasn't the only word I'd use. The medina is an absolute labyrinth of alleyways. Unless you stick to the main 'artery' of it, you will get lost. That in itself isn't a bad thing. It obviously makes it more of an adventure getting back home, and I was so glad that I had my compass with me as it's hard enough finding the landmark sights let alone using them to navigate! The map in my Rough Guidebook was too rough to religiously use as well. I also asked several times along the way back which way it was to Bab Boujeloud, one of the the gates of the Medina and the one closest to my hotel.

Are there any plus points for Fes bearing in mind Ryanair now fly there from London? The 2 main sights to see there viz: the tanneries & the old Medersa (college) building are worth seeing. To see the Tanneries, you have to use one of the faux guides there to allow you into one of the surrounding shops. The tanneries are completely surrounded by buildings, so it's not possible nor any good to wonder round somehow and see from ground level how it functions. That costs a min of 20Dh. Then you're shown around some good shops, leather goods, pottery, spices, etc; which are very good and don't come with an obligation to purchase.

The Medersa is one of the few muslim buildings one is allowed to enter and the marblework and woodwork are breathtaking to admire. That cost me 10 Dh, and worth visiting for half an hour.

The only other thing I did worth mentioning was climbing up the valley side to Borj Nord where there is an Arms museum and watch Fes at sunset. You can also see the other Borj Sud on the other side of the valley (strangely enough). These were used back in the Middle Ages as castles to keep the Fassis (residents of Fes) in, rather than invaders out! Enough said.