Chefchauen to Fes and Fes tour

Day 5 and 6
Chefchauen to Fes and tour of Fes
First stop was Volubilis.  No, I  lie.  We drove 40 minutes  past Volubilis to Meknes for lunch and 40 minutes back for the tour and then 40 minutes back again.
 Voubilis was a very memorable place. " It was built on the site of Neolithic ruins and an important Berber village thought to have been the capital of Mauretania.  From AD 45 it was subject to Roman rule.  Olive oil and copper were its main assets ". That's pretty much straight from the book.  Most of the important relics are in a museum in Rabat that we didn't visit.  It is still very impressive.  Our guide was a young man who had grown up inthe nearby village.  His father is an archaeologist who has been working on the dig (now a UNESCO site. Our guide had the place as a playground. He has helped on the dig and is now doing tours.  We really enjoyed his commentary.  His English , French and German were picked up on the site.
After Volubilis we headed to Meknes.  It began to rain.  By the time we got to Meknes it was pouring o we were content to stay in the car for our tour.  Meknes was the capital of the sultan Moulay Ishmail. He  ruled from 1672 to 1727 and was a dreadful man who did unspeakable things to his slaves, wives, all 500 of them, his children (he stangled the girls at birth and cut off limbs of the boys if they displeased him).  I won't even say what he did to his 25,00 slaves!

On to Fes where we stayed at Riad Gheta.  My least favorite so far.  It was built in the 14th century and much of it is original. While the decor was beautiful it just could have been cleaner. They did serve a nice breakfast.  Even an egg.  Most, except for the Movenpick have been bread, olives and yogurt.   All have had the best orange juice on earth.  Man it's good.  Freshly squeezed it takes about 3 to four oranges per glass.  Abdul  got us orange juice in Chefchauen and that day we had about 9 oranges.  Had to cut back on that but hated to. The porter/server/ guy who seemed to fly to do everything was awesome.  The first night we got in very late and we were beyond hungry and tired he served us our dinner.  He had to run up and down a flight of stairs for each course. First bread and olives, next salad, then the tagine and then fruit. Oh and tea.  At some point he indicated that there was only him  by pointing to himself, holding up one finger, then swishing the fingers of one hand rapidly across the palm of the other hand and making a swishing sound.  He was always smiling and good natured.  We loved him. When we left he indicated to Roy not to let the lady manager (who we thought was lazy) not to let her see him get a tip, so she was greedy as well.
Next morning we are up to tour Fes
Our tour of Fes, spelled with an s please was another memorable tour.  Our guide, Eunice was a young man who had been to Seattle.   He was very knowledgeable about the city and its history.  We wished he could be our guide for the whole trip.  He told us about his mother shops in the market (souk). Mainly she goes for the gossip which she relates to the family at lunch time. They call it BBC Fez.  I tasted a raspberry from a stall and made Roy taste it too.  He was madly trying to warn me not to eat unwashed fruit.  Oops!  Later we put a coin through the slot and made a wish at the door of a place that does charitable work. I wished that we wouldn't get sick from the raspberry.   We didn't so I got my wish.
The Medina is a UNESCO site.  We visited the site of the university, the oldest in the world,  the kairauine library and Mosque, the medersa (lodging for students), Place Seffarine, where there is a cluster of craftsmen making different crafts (pottery, copper as silversmiths, leather work.) We also visited a place where people dye various items.  The street beneath our feet was awash with a variety of colours. We also visited a herbalist and the process was the same as a rug store.  We spent $80.00 on 2 little items we may never use.

Us at the door to the ladies prayer room at the Mosque.

The tanners were last on our tour in the Medina.   It didn't smell all that bad but they gave us mint leaves to cover the smell.  The colours are all made from natural sources such as cobalt,  yellow from sunflowers, they don't use saffron as it has become too expensive, and poppies for red.  Unfortunately we were fatigued by this time so when it came time to shop even though I had planned to get a purse I couldn't stand the hassling and haggling, I just wanted out!
We had a very large lunch while Eunice said his prayers (or ate lunch).  We were served 9 or 10 different salads in small bowls.  The carrots and green beans were my favorites.  We are carving fresh vegetables.  Salad was followed by a chicken with almonds tagine for me and chicken with onions for Roy.  Then there was a fruit plate and cookies. Full up.  It cost about $45.00 for both of us.
Next we went by car to see the kings palace, the fortress and a pottery factory where we did break down and buy something.  Our tour with Eunice was over.  He loves to read and suggested that I should read "Beyond the Veil" which I will do when we get home.
A nice day and we weren't in the car all day!