Morocco Part III: Fes

Our third and final stop in Morocco was Fes. While it was super inconvenient (especially coming from Essaouira), we had heard and read that Fes was the best place to experience real Moroccan culture and to escape the tourist-heavy areas of the country. Fes was indeed authentic, and I am glad that we visited the city, but I don't know that I would make the trek again.

View of the medina from our balcony

View of Fes

To get to Fes from Essaouira, we first had to drive back to Marrakech (approx. 2 hours). While the drive to Essaouira in the Sofitel Audi was quite pleasant, the return was in an old Kia SUV with a surly driver who was on his phone, yelling in Arabic, for the entire 2 hours. Needless to say it was extremely unpleasant.

Once we finally got to the train station in Marrakech, the trip was smooth sailing. The train station was modern and well labeled, and we were even able to grab a quick dinner to eat on the train.... from McDonald's. While not the most exciting fare, it was the best option at the train station (the options basically boiled down to McDonald's and KFC, interestingly enough). I am happy to report that McDonald's tastes exactly the same in Morocco as it does in the U.S. 

Sofitel Fes Palais Jamai gardens

Sofitel Fes Palais Jamai gardens

We then settled into our old-school train cabin for the 7+ hour ride to Fes from Marrakech (there is no direct train; the train goes Marrakech - Casablanca - Fes, which is why it takes so long). Our business class cabin had 6 seats and a door closing it off from the hallway. For the first half of the journey, the other 4 seats in our cabin were taken up by a group of young men who did not speak any English, but were very pleasant. Our cabin-mates got off the train in Casablanca, and we were lucky enough to have the entire cabin to ourselves for the remaining 4-ish hours of the trip.

Sofitel Fes Palais Jamai gardens

When we finally arrived in Fes, very late at night, we took a taxi to our hotel, the Sofitel Fes Palais Jamai. Fes does not have many hotel options, and the riads are probably the most interesting options there, but I was sold on the Sofitel - it used to be the palace of a vizier, so it is a really cool old building. We were upgraded to a very large suite with a balcony overlooking the medina, which was spectacular. While the rooms could use some updating, and the hotel food left something to be desired, overall the Sofitel fulfilled all of our needs, and the hotel's interior, gardens and views were incredible. On our final day, we spent the morning before our flight relaxing in the gardens and pool, and it was pretty great to be able to sit by the pool and view out to the medina.

Cool staircase in Fes - not really sure where this is

Museum in Fes

We were only in Fes for 2 nights, so on our full day in Fes, we arranged for a guided tour, which I would say was necessary - Fes was even more labyrinthine than Marrakech, and I imagine very easy to get lost in. Our guide took us all around the medina, including to an old Madrasah and a few museums. We also were able to look in, from the outside, to the courtyards of a beautiful ancient university in Fes. However, non-Muslims (and I think all women) are not allowed to enter, so we had to take in the views from the outside.

Old Madrasah in Fes

University in Fes (from the outside)

Of course, the most unique and interesting site in Fes (in my opinion) was the famous tanneries. I had been waiting throughout the entire trip to buy a leather bag in Fes, so I was pretty excited. As the last part of our tour of Fes, the guide took us to the rooftop of a leather emporium, where we could see the tanneries below. The rooftop was a safe distance from the foul smell of the tanneries (they use guano to cure the leather), but they also gave us some fresh mint leaves to hold to our nose, since the smell did waft up to the roof a bit.

After seeing the tannery, we were able to watch the leather crafters making bags (faux Birkins when we were there), and I ended up buying a gorgeous camel leather duffel bag. Of course, once we returned to the hotel room and distanced ourselves from the tannery smell, we realized that the bag still held a certain... odor. However, after a few months of airing our, the bag sits in my closet and does not have a noticeable smell unless you put your nose close to the leather.

Fes tannery

Fes tannery

Overall, Fes was really cool and genuinely authentic. I don't think we saw any other tourists at all outside of museums and our hotel (and even our hotel was mostly Moroccans in town for a conference). While I don't know that I would take the long journey there again, it was definitely worth the trip this time.