Days 9 & 10 - Rain, rain...go away & a Fes City Walk

Every morning in Fes we woke up at 5:13am by the adhan, or morning call to prayer (which summons Muslims to prayer). One of the things I find most fascinating about the Islamic faith are the daily calls to prayer (there are five prescribed calls per day). The time of the first call to prayer each day can vary from mosque to mosque, but must be done before the sun rises. The verses are always the exact same worldwide, but are always sung live (I had no idea) by the local muezzin from the top of the minaret of each mosque (via loudspeakers). I love that each muezzin has such a different beautiful voice, & that they all seem to mysteriously start at around the same time, so that if you strain to listen- you can often 2-3 different prayers being sung nearly in sync around town. If you're never heard/seen the verses, I've posted them below:

Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
Ash-hadu an la ilaha ill-Allah.
Ash-hadu an la ilaha ill-Allah.
Ash-hadu anna Muhammad-ar-Rasoolullah.
Ash-hadu anna Muhammad-ar-Rasoolullah.
Hayya 'alas-Salah. 
Hayya 'alas-Salah.
Hayya 'alal-falah. 
Hayya 'alal-falah.
Allahu Akbar. 
Allahu Akbar.La ilaha ill-Allah.

Allah is Most Great. Allah is Most Great.
I bear witness that there is none worthy of being worshipped except Allah.
I bear witness that there is none worthy of being worshipped except Allah.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah.
Come to prayer. Come to prayer.
Come to Success. Come to Success.
Allah is Most Great. Allah is Most Great.
There is none worthy of being worshipped except Allah.
Allah is Most Great. Allah is Most Great.

Once up each day, we were served a massive daily spread at Dar Fes Medina, which included all three of Morocco's signature drinks- steaming hot mint tea, freshly squeezed orange juice and a very strong French-press coffee. It was accompanied by eggs, cheese, yogurt, Moroccan pancakes, and at least 2-3 other breads. Needless to say, Moroccans aren't Atkins fans. They owe me a month of Jenny Craig.

The condiments were always served in these gorgeous dishes (which we saw at nearly every riad/restaurant we ate at). 

Our second day in Fes was supposed to be spent with a guide who could help us navigate the city while also filling us with ever more historical information about the fascinating city. But because it was pouring rain that day, I rescheduled the tour for the following day and we wandered around instead.

I dressed Ryan in the world's first burqua-rain jacket. I expect it to take off in Muslim countries around the world. You can say you knew me when...because I will probably ignore you. I hope you understand, because you have to know that a royalty check of $17.23 would change ANYONE.

Rich loves to sample the local food. In this case- boiled snails. Shockingly, these did not smell very appetizing. Plus, due to language difficulties- we could not ascertain that they were locally raised, grass-fed, organic snails, which is why sadly, I could not eat them. Otherwise,  I'm sure I would have dug right in... *wink wink nudge nudge*

Psy , oops! I meant Joey bought a painting from a young artist at this family gallery*. To get there we had to walk through an alleyway so narrow that I to duck and shimmy sideways the whole time. A little awkward! 

Apparently the children of Morocco thought Joey looked like that Korean singer Psy. We guessed that because every time he passed a group of children they would point, laugh and mimic the horse-riding dance and sing "Oppa Gangnam Style!" whenever he walked by and then collapse in hysterics. He was not amused.The upside? He paid one of his fans that night (a boy who called him Psy and danced for him) to walk us safely back to our riad. ;-)

The next morning it was sunny, so we met Khaled, our guide.

Walking around the old walled city with Khaled (he told us that his father had died a few weeks ago on a pilgrammage to Mecca...which was actually a good thing). Every twenty minutes or so he had to stop when others offered their condolences. It's obvious that even with 160,000+ residents within the medina,, it's still very much a small town.

Some pictures from our tour of the different 'district's within the medina that day:

The only mosque open to non-Muslims in the Fes medina- Bou Inania Madrasa .

Another functional water fountain

Stacks and stacks of colorful scarves

Bab Boujeloud, the 'main gate' famous for it's blue hue on one side (the color of Fes), and green on the other (the color of Islam) that leads to the main street packed with souqs (shops). I asked to see the meat market (I'd read that butchers often  proudly display sheep, goat, cow and camel heads). We saw two of the four the day. :-) I'm glad Safeway has opted out of this fine practice.

The metal working district, also unchanged for many centuries.  

I have a video posted below of the metal workers working & creating music together. If it was done for our benefit, I'd be surprised. There were no hoards of tourists in Fes, and particularly during the time of year we were there.

The unexpected surprise of the day- a government-restored carpet coop that was once a lavish home.

Please tell Ali that I will be in the sitting room waiting for my mint tea!

They are only about $5,000 - $10,000 on average, so how many do you want? (I don't think I could afford even a coaster there.)

A restored fountain inside the inner courtyard of the co-op. (I would also like water fountains like this in my home.)

Cheaper, smaller carpets. You need only a month's salary for these.

Dyeing the old fashioned way

Water cooler chit chat

Approaching the Wood Museum

The interior of the museum

I just loved the interior courtyard at the museum centering around this one drain.

The rooftop deck view from the museum

You can see the walls of the medina from this angle atop the roof.

Where half of us ate for lunch (@ $20 a pop), the other half of us ate from  a cart from $1.25 each.

I fell in love with the white/blue signature Fes pottery. Here is another co-op filled from floor to ceiling with beautiful dishes.

I desperately wanted a few platters, but I could just see them arriving shattered. :-(

I ended up buying a few small pieces from this shop instead, direct from the artist/owner. I assure you he was happier prior to this picture being taken. ;-)

Spices, anyone?

And how's about some freshly cooked sheep head to go with those spices? Yum!

I have about 3-4 short vignettes of various calls to prayer from this trip...here's the one from our room at Dar Fes Medina:

And here is an amazing video of the metal workers using their work to create melodic beats together: