Fes, Morocco
Fes in Morocco is like Marrakesh’s more chilled out spiritual sister.
Walking the streets there’s no doubt you’ll be offered some hashish, but that’s just part of the charm of this laid-back Moroccan hive. Most of the action centres around The Blue Gate. Here you’ll find restaurants, cafes and the main entrance to the Fes market. Skip past the clucking chickens, man stares, artisans and donkeys and endless converse trainers and shoes and there’s a lot more to this city than at first seems.
UNESCO World Heritage Site – Fes Old Town
Fes’s Old Town is beautiful – it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site after all – and when you see it from above you can appreciate it all the more.
Just around the corner from the Blue Gate and out of the beautiful sandstone walls of the Old Town follow the path above the city walls. Keep going past the schools and the kids and you’ll be rewarded with views like this one…
Fes skyline, Morocco
You can see for miles across Fes and Meknes. If you carry on walking further you’ll come to a grassy knoll. My boyfriend and I literally sat here for hours admiring the incredible views and watching the tour groups come and go as they took their photos.
It was the most peaceful and reflective place I’ve ever been.
With an April chill in the air high up on that hill after a few hours it was time for a coffee break at the 5-star Hotel Merinides. A quick nod to the door guard and I’d say judging by the lack of people they were just glad of the custom. We sat looking out over the whole of Fez supping a coffee and admiring the pool set into the mountainside.
Back to the Blue Gate
There’s only so much coffee two people can drink so we decided to get back into that beautiful Old Town we’d been staring at all day. It was a quick walk down although the sun and doing nothing all day had taken a bit out of us. It was high time for a refuel.
The Blue Gate, Fes in Morocco
Back at the Blue Gate the rains were coming in so we decided to dine at Hotel Cascade – a makeshift looking restaurant in a roof garden. The walls were lined with sofas and the movie channel was on in the background. We chose the safest looking table under the tarpaulin and settled down with a rug for warmth. After ordering a tagine, an apple shish and a few mint teas with the friendly waiter the heavens opened and the rains fell. I had a quick peek over the edge of the hotel wall and down below the patrons and staff at the restaurants were frantic. Everyone was ushered inside and tables and chairs were collapsed and chucked indoors.
The group at the table next to us started singing the Boyzone classic A Different Beat:
“I’ve seen the rains fall in Africaaaa, I’ve touched the snow in Alaskaaa”
Among all this carnage the waiter had bought us a delicious chicken tagine. The chicken was tender, the sauce tasty and the couscous spot on is was a delicious meal with a view of Fes to admire between heads down for scraping, framed by an incredible thunderstorm.
