Fes

How to go from Fes to the airport

Fes Sais International Airport is modern, organized, very quiet and clean… and conveniently located about 17 kilometers South from the medina.

HOW TO GO FROM FES TO THE AIRPORT BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT

The taxi (grand taxi) is the most popular way to reach the airport and it costs between 120 to 150 Dirham, being the best option if you are caring heavy luggage or if you have the chance of sharing the taxi with other passengers.

But there’s also a regular public bus from the city that passes by the airport… it’s not fast or comfortable but it’s very cheap!!!!… but you need to go with plenty of time as the schedules are not respected and the traffic can be a intense.

The reach the airport you must take the bus 16, that start Avenue des Almohades, very close to the train station. There isn’t a proper bus stand or any sign or indication about this service, but the place where the bus 16 stops is easy to find: if you come out from the train station, walk until you reach the big avenue with a roundabout, there walk to the right, about 2000 meters and you’ll find other people waiting for different buses to who you can confirm if you are at the right place. On your right side you’ll see a ground that works more or less as a bus terminal; the bus 16 stops at the main avenue just before the park entrance.

There’s a bus every 30 minutes but I talk with people that assume that sometimes can be one hour… I was lucky and didn’t wait more than 10 minutes.

The bus will drop you about 350 meters from departure entrance, close by a roundabout without much reference points, but that is very close to the car park and from where you can see the airport building.

Bus stop at Fes airport… there is no sign or stand that indicated where bus stops

The bus ticket costs 4 Dirham and the trip takes around 45 minutes to 1 hour… but can be much longer depending of the traffic.

Bus to Fes airport: the ticket cost only 4 Dirham

If your accommodation is nearby the medina, the easiest is to take a shared taxi (petit taxi) from the Bab Boujloud (Blue gate) or from Batha; the trip takes about 10 minutes, depending on the traffic, but at peak hour it can take more than 20 minutes. At Fes, the petit taxis have taximeters and I end up paying just 5 Dirham from Batha to the Train station, despite the driver had picked up and dropped other passengers along the way.

Fes… get lost in the medina

The medina, the old part of Fes city, is considered the biggest pedestrian area in the world… but it’s just by chance, being the result from the narrow and maze streets of this compact urban area, with an extremely high population density, with two-thirds of the Fes population living there. But things are changing, and small trucks have slowly replaced the use of donkeys to carry goods. Still, walking on foot is the only option to move around the medina, and getting lost in this labyrinth is part of Fes experience.

But in fact, moving random is the best way to visit and feel the local lifestyle of the medina, find hidden alleys, be surprised by the sunrays that bravely break the shadowy streets, walk through the colours of the fruits and vegetables of the street markers, find unexpected squares and yards, watch where a solitary tree resists urban pressure.

Basically… go with the flow and get lost in the medina!!!!

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Fes medina is like a living being, changing all the time according to the local population schedules, a rhythm regulated by prayers calling, the smell of freshly baked bread, the freshness of the seasonal fruits, the sweet aroma of the dry fruits the acre of the olives, by the bubbling of hot tea being poured into the glass and savored with a quiet conversation.

It’s a busy and intense rhythm that fill up the streets but at the same time you feel that the time slows down as you watch the little shops that line the streets of the medina, each one dedicated to a specific craft or product, where it seems that nothing has changed in the last decades, where the arts and traditions pass from generation to generation without change or surprises.

Passing at the same place several times you are always surprised by something new that you didn’t spot before. And this is the beauty of the medina, where the ancient walls keep its own lifestyle and pace apart from the outside world.

But there’s also the other side of the city, with the high concentration of people putting in risk the delicate urban balance, where the lack of with some lack of infrastructure where buildings suffer from lack of maintenance threatens the safety of buildings in an area where the population has low economic resources.

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A visit to the tanneries is a classic of a Fes experience… in fact it’s an impressive experience not just because of the famous nasty smell of the manufacturing leather process (that is not so disgusting as people say) but also because of the beauty of the place itself, where the sunlight provides a geometric play of contrasts. Officially there’s not an entrance to the tanneries, and the only option to see the tanneries is to enter in one of the many leather goods stores that invariably have a balcony or a rooftop from where you can watch the hard work that involves the leather manufacture, totally based on human labor.

So, if you want to see the tanneries from one of these shops it’s more or less expected that you buy something… I was able to avoid this pressure by arguing that being vegetarian did not use products of animal origin… that was received with a certain regret but well accepted.

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As in Morocco, all the mosques are closed to non-muslim, the madrassas (Islamic schools) are the best opportunities to contact with the traditional Moroccan architecture, with impressive intricate Moorish ornaments. The Medrassa El Bouanania, a few meters from the Blue Gate is a very good example but it’s also very busy as it’s mandatory to any tourist tour in Fes medina… although it worth the visit. Entrance fee 20 Dirhams.

But for me, the most impressive memory of Fes was the public hammam! A real local experience that left me with glowing skin, a melting sensation in the body and a sleepy mood.

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Where to sleep in Fes:

Being almost so popular as Marrakesh in terms of tourism, Fes offers many accommodation options for all budgets, from luxury riads to basic dorms.

I choose the Riad Verus, located outside medina walls but 5 minutes walking from Bab Boujeloud. It’s a nice and attractive place with a cool decoration…. but it doesn’t make my vibe, as is more a social/party place. The breakfast is famous, with a compromise between Moroccan and western style that mixes toast, fruit and yogurt, beans soup, juice and cakes, which didn’t impress me but it’s a good way to start the day. I got a bed in the top dorm, on the rooftop that was a bit chilly during the evening and away from the comfortable expected for a 140 Dirham bed.

I would not recommend it unless you’re looking for fun and partying in a city and alcohol is not available everywhere.

But the roof top of this hostel provide a very good view to the medina, and watching the sunset from the was very chill.

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Where to eat in Fes:

Very close to Rue Talaa Sghira, not far from the Bab Boujeloud can find a big concentration of eateries with the traditional Moroccan food. There’s a big choice, from meat, bread, snacks, soups, sweets… Walking a 100 meters further you’ll see on your right another street (Rue de la Post) with several street stalls, that only start in the afternoon but are a good place for a quick meal.

Along the main streets, you’ll find several restaurants, most of them orientated to the tourist expectations and standards. To find the local eateries you must go to the small alleys… follow your senses, as the smell of the grilled meat, the steam of the tagines and the fragrance of the besara soup will guide you to the right place.

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Moroccan sweets... in fact the north Moroccan cities offer a more interesting experience in terms of sweets — Moroccan sweets… in fact the north Moroccan cities offer a more interesting experience in terms of sweets

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How to move around in Fes:

Fes is a big city, and to be honest, the two days that I spent there where not sufficient to explore more than the medina, the old walled city… but the medina itself has enough points of interest to keep you entertained for several days, as there is always something to discover in this vast labyrinth of streets.

About orientation in the medina, you’ll find a lot of tips on the internet, that of course, are useful but it will not resolve the problem of orientation in this maze. Some hostel and riads offer tours, but you’ll be conducting in a group along the main streets that are basically full of shops selling tourist orientated products, and missing the small alleys where the food markets and the more local lifestyle takes place. But if you are running out of time these tours are still a good option and Fes medina is so cool that even the most crowded areas are a delight for the senses.

I think it’s more interesting to explore the medina by yourself… maybe you skip one madrassa, a mosque, a Moorish detail or any other touristic sightseeing but you’ll be able to have a less standard experience.

Basically, there are two main “streets” that goes down from the Bab Boujeloud, one a bit on the left and the other more to the right; knowing that Bab Boujeloud is the West entrance and that the medina goes down as you walk East it’s a great help in terms of orientation. As you keep walking down, you’ll end you nearby a water canal.

Even when you feel lost… keep walking along the more busy streets, as a certain point you’ll end up coming out from the medina, and there your GPS will work well. But do not expect to find a place you’ve gone before or a store where you’d like to come back … maybe you might never find the same place again!!!!!

Avoid walking in the streets after 10 p.m. as at that time all the shops and restaurants are closed, the streets become deserted and the reference points that you had from the day will vanish, and it will more difficult to find the “mains” streets. With the dark and absence of people, I found that the medina gaining a somewhat sinister atmosphere with just a few young guys hanging around.

However, efforts have been made to make easier the orientation inside the medina and there are signs that you can flow, identified by colours, pointing the most important landmarks as Bab Boujloud and Place R’cif. You just need to look up while you walk… sometimes it looks like some of this sign are missing, so the best option is to ask to locals; don’t accept the help from people that are just hanging around the streets as sometimes they are touts that end up pushing you to shops or ask money for their guiding services… try to ask directly to the shop owners, they are trustful and will be pleased to help.

Google maps and maps.me are not reliable at all. Try the HERE WeGO app that is the only that can help you to orientate inside the medina.

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Around the medina:

A bit far away from the medina, about 1.5 km away from the famous Blue Gate (Bab Boujeloud) is the Mellah, the Jewish quarter. Segregated during ages from the Muslim part of the city, this area shows up with a different vibe, quieter, with wider streets flanked by a more Westernized architecture but without losing the touch of Arab culture that dominates the whole city. To reach the old Synagogues you must walk through small alleys where the old buildings attest to the antiquity of the place.

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gate entrance to the Mellah, the Jewish quarter of Fes

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Nearby, on the way back to the medina you can walk through Jnan Sbil (Parc du Boujloud), a green and fresh park where you can refill your batteries with nature. It closes on Mondays.

Didn’t have time to visit the Merenid tombs but I was advised to go for the nice medina views, particularly in the morning or before the sunset.

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Jnan Sbil (Parc du Boujloud), a green and fresh park where you can refill your batteries with nature

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How to go from Fes to the airport:

A quick guide to hammam experience in Morocco

Public baths, or hammam as they are called locally, are a “must do” in a Moroccan trip as they are still part of the routine of the local population, not just because of the traditions as also because many houses, particularly in the old parts of the cities (medinas), don’t have bathing facilities. And besides this, the public bath keeps playing an important role in social life, particularly for the women, who find in the hammams a place to socialize and move away from the housewives routines to which they are still totally dedicated.

Traditionally, in all Moroccan cities, towns and villages, where there is a mosque there’s also a hammam and a bakery!!! But they are not easy to spot, as many times there’s no sign outside or if there’s one it’s in Arabic writing. So this pushes many times the foreigner visitors to a more touristic (and expensive experience) where the hammam gets close to a spa, with comfort and western standards but where local people don’t go.

But if you are looking for a relaxing chill experience, a public hammam is not the best choice, as the conditions are simple and basic, without a proper dressing room, a place to sit, to be scrubbed or to receive a massage. There’s only the floor, the walls, tanks with cold and hot water, and few rooms at different temperatures… there are buckets all over the place and people move in a certain bustle by filling the buckets and transporting them to the different rooms, since there are no showers, using jugs to pour water on the body, with a mother and daughters or friends to help each other in this process. Forget the sophistication and the quietness of the spa cliché… this is much more interesting!!!!

In Morocco the hammam has total gender segregation; in the ones that don’t have these facilities there’s a different schedule for men and women. This makes that in the women side there are a lot of kids (both sex), and a lot of girls and teenagers, making it busy and noisy place where it’s a challenge to relax… but at the same time it’s a gathering of women from different generations where, without modesty or shame, the body is exposed showing how the aging process manifest in our bodies.

If you want a scrub (it’s used the French word gommage) or a massage you must ask to a friend or in the case that you are alone you can hire the services of the hammam staff.

Despite the noise and the movement I confess that the visit to the public bath end up being a very enjoyable and relaxing and experience, I recommend to be made at the end of the day, as when I come out I felt melting and with only energy to eat a soup before walking back to the guesthouse.

One curiosity… the water for the hammam is heated with fire, in fact, was this way that I spot the first public bath, as passing by a narrow door I saw a pile of wood, and at the end of a dark corridor a man feeding a huge stove.

It’s a very nice and interesting experience and I only try these baths at the end of my trip to Morocco, otherwise, I would have visited the hammam more times. Forget the glamorous idea of a hammam and join the locals… you’ll receive a lot of sincere smiles.

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Public hammam in Meknes:

In Meknes, the public hammam is located inside the medina, a few meters from the Lahdim Square, if you walk to the right side (with Bab Mansour on your back), along a narrow street, you’ll find the sign “Riad Ritaj Maison d’Hotel” that’s is also a restaurant. Just in front, on the opposite side of the alley, you’ll find a small and anonymous door without any sign that is the entrance to the hammam.

As far as I remember, this hammam open at 12 for women, but the schedule changes along the day, with the late afternoon reserved men, until 8 p.m. The entrance costs 10 Dirham and if you need a massage or scrub you must pay extra. Bring your own towel, soap, etc… buckets are available inside. The staff of Riad Ritaj it’s available to give you more detail information! Just ask, as they are very friendly!

In such a big medina, for sure Meknes have another hammam, but many times the people from hotels will point you the more touristic ones… I was very lucky as the owner of the Restaurant Mille et Une Nuits (located closely) gave me useful tips about the traditional hammam as also about the way it works and what to bring.

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Public hammam in Mulay Idriss:

In Mulay Idriss is more difficult to indicate the way to the hammam, as it is located in the old part of the village, somewhere in the maze of streets that spreads on the hillside, in a steep street with steps. It looks very small and it was almost impossible to understand the schedules, as the lady in charge spoke no English.

For sure that if you ask local people they all can point you the direction of the hammam!

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Public hammam in Imlil:

There’s also a hammam in Imlil more focus in the tourist clients, just on the right side of the road, after the turn to the Toubkal trail. It’s in a red colour building a bit up the hill but visible from the road, not far from the small bridge. The local association manages this place and the profits support the local community.

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Public hammam in Fes:

This was the only hammam that I visit in Morocco, so all I’m not sure if this is the Moroccan standard.

It’s located inside the medina, in one of the main streets, Rue Talaa Sghira, not far from the Bab Boujeloud, the most famous gate. It’s called Hammam Sidi Azouz (you can find in Google maps as also Maps.me app). Walk down the street you’ll spot a simple door, with an arc shape, tiles on the tiles on the background wall and a sign above (check the photos below).

At the entrance, you need to pay the hammam fee, 15 Dirham, to the doorman. Once you step inside you reach the dressing room, a large room, with high ceiling formed by vaults of Moorish style. Here there are bench and closets where you can put clothes and stuff. There are no security lockers but the place seemed to be safe and there’s a person apparently cleaning and taking care of the place, whom I tip with 5 Dirhams to keep an eye on my stuff.

Once you cross a small door, you’ll get inside the bath area of the hammam, a sequence of rooms with an arched ceiling and a black and white tile floor, that as you move further get warmer and warmer. On the last one, where you can feel the intensity of the hot steam, there are two big water tanks, one cold and the other one very hot, from where the ladies fill up their buckets. It’s a place without windows and the only light comes from the small openings on the top of the high ceiling, wrapping the place with a dim light, that with the steam create a fantastic ambiance.

There’s a lady in charge, to who took care of me, and by gestures and a few French words guide me in this experience, bringing me water buckets, point me where to stay, poured water over me to remove the soap and scrub my entire body… she’s also responsible for the massage but I skip that part as it was out of my budget.

The scrubbing part I confess was the most impressive… following the instruction of the lady, I just lay down on the floor (that is warm) while she scrubs my body vigorously with a proper glove. It was intense and for moments I thought that my skin couldn’t handle with such rough treatment, but after the first impact I start to enjoy the sensation and at the same time the feeling of total surrender to the care of someone else.

For the scrub I pay 50 Dirham, which is more than the locals pay for this service but I really enjoy it and I felt very grateful for her help managing the hammam procedures.

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What you need for a hammam:

Towel
Soap and shampoo… or the traditional “beldi” or “savon beldi”, a kind of olive soap, that maybe doesn’t look appealing by its dark colour but will give an extra smoothness to the skin. You can buy in some herbalist shops in the medina markets.
For the scrubbing, you need your own glove (you can find easily at the souk and according to the quality it can cost from 5 to 15 Dirham).
Big bucket and a small jug that you can buy at the souk… I use the big buckets available at the hammam and borrow the jug from a lady there.
Some ladies bring a small plastic stool to avoid sitting directly on the floor, as there are no benches or whatsoever to seat, but a towel can also work.
.. no one uses them but I always appreciate and avoid you to slip.

In terms of etiquette, on the men side, it isn’t accepted full nudity. At the ladies side, most of the women wear only panties, and nothing to cover the breasts. So is better to bring extra underwear to change after the bath.

To be honest, I can’t add more detailed information than what is written in this blog… and with a male perspective!!!

//theviewfrommorocco.blogspot.com/2006/12/future-home-for-view-from-fez.html

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that dark brown paste in the center of the photo is the “savon beldi”, a traditional olive soap

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Fes

Where to sleep in Fes:

Where to eat in Fes:

How to move around in Fes:

Around the medina:

How to go from Fes to the airport:

Public hammam in Meknes:

Public hammam in Mulay Idriss:

Public hammam in Imlil:

Public hammam in Fes:

What you need for a hammam:

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