Fez Pt.1

Sunday evening seems like a calm and quiet time to arrive in a new city. But not Fez. Sunday's not the day of rest here, after all, and this fact was obvious from the buzz of activity in the streets of Fez's Ville Nouvelle as I made my way from the bus stop to my hotel. As night fell there were errands to be run, walks to be taken by couples and families in the Jardin Public, dinner to be eaten in the open-air restaurants along the main drag. And of course, the call to prayer from the nearby mosque that periodically punctured the air and sent streams of men in its direction.

Though I'd planned to leave the next morning for Chef Chaouen, three soldout busses meant a change of plans and an extra day in Fez. I'd been planning to come back to Fez after Chaouen anyway, so it was just something to take in stride.

A day to get my bearings in one of Morocco's most ancient cities. I started off wandering around the Ville Nouvelle, the modern new city, before heading to the winding streets of the Medina.

But first I had to cross the street. Many times in fact, and the seeming absence of stoplights meant that I had to stealthily wait with old ladies on the curb without their noticing and then follow the, across the street as cars whizzed by on either side.

I wandered up and down the wide and elegant Blvd Hassan II a bunch of times, getting my bearings before deciding to jump into the medina. Without a guide. Or a map, really.

Before you get to the medina, you have to cross through Fes Al-Jdid, the old Jewish quarter. I seemed to get there at some kind of rush hour, or better put chaos hour. Busses, motorbikes, pushcarts, animals, jaywalking pedestrians and bicycles jamming the narrow street; horns honking and people yelling at each other; street vendors blasting Arabic pop music to entice passersby to take a closer look at the dried fruit, or cushions, or raw sheep's wool, or plastic brooms or fake Nikes they were selling. A definite "just in case you hadn't noticed, you're now in Morocco" moment.

The Medina almost paled in comparison. But more about that later...