Part I: 2 Nights in Fez Hotels

Our dear colleague and booking department expert Henrike has recently taken a Morocco round trip. Read about the myriad of new impressions and experiences she gathered there…

What entered my mind when I thought of Morocco one month ago? Hotel ghettos by the sea and Uschi Obermeier searching for spiritual enlightenment in Marrakech.
But I should find out soon that Morocco is a fascinating country full of colorful contrasts, thousands of exotic smells and the most beautiful traditional Riad Hotels as in Arabian Nights.

With Ryanair from Frankfurt-Hahn Airport we are landing on a balmy late summer evening in Fez, the oldest and most important of the four royal cities.
First challenge: How do I find my hotel in this labyrinthine old town, as I have only the street name, yet the roads are not signposted? Wandering around, asking one’s way, but eventually hiring a local guide for a small tip. Next time we will have a transfer by the hotel arranged beforehand.

The first night we spend in the magical hotel Dar Al Andalous, a magnificently furnished Moroccan noble house behind simple walls with excellent cuisine.

We start our exploration tour through the narrow alleys of the medina, which has been a world heritage site since 1981 under the protection of the UNESCO, at the city gate Bab Boujeloud. In addition to all sorts of creatures, like cackling chickens, ducks and kittens languishing in front of the butcher stalls, a mule, heavily loaded with cases of Cola, trudges by. Tradition and modern era collide at every turn. Many older residents still wear the traditional Djelabba (a long tunic) with a pointed hood. Young people long for western fashion.
In a shop with spices and perfumes the dedicated seller rubs us with fragrant powders. Through his Arabic-French description we learn that they are probably parts of a whale or a musk ox. I play it safe and buy a vial of the precious argan oil with the scent of fleur d’orange as a souvenir.

On our way towards the tanners’ quarter we stop by the fascinating El-Karaouine University, the oldest university of the Islamic World. To the tanners’ quarter Chaouara just follow your nose. The acrid smell leads straight to its entrance. For a small fee you can climb up on a nearby roof garden and look down from a safe distance to the big colorful containers, in which the leather is being treated and dyed.

Once the senses are befuddled by thousands of odors and the feet tired from the steeply rising alley on the way back to Bab Boujeloud, you can treat yourself to a recovery on the roof garden of one of the restaurants near the gate with a fresh mint tea or a tajine with couscous and vegetables. From here you have a beautiful view over the rooftops and numerous minarets of the city and the mountains rising in the background. When you wait for the moment of the call to prayer, you can listen here to the mystical-sounding chorus of different voices of the muezzins from the nearby minarets.
Hint: On Fridays the medina resembles a ghost town, as this is the Islamic holiday in Morocco. So better take an excursion to the surroundings.

The second night we sleep heavenly in the wonderful Riad Jaouhara. Entering the Riad from the small street, bustling with people, a delightful silence suddenly prevails. The green inner patio is a small paradise with pool, chirping birds in a lemon tree and the oriental-style fountain splashing soothingly. Rainy Germany is long forgotten!

After a Moroccan breakfast with freshly squeezed orange juice, Baghrir (Moroccan crepes), honey, apricot jam, fried eggs out of the tajine, coffee and tea, we conquer the regions of Fez el Bali and Fès el Jdid.

Today we are already moving further south to Marrakech. I can hardly wait…