A DAY IN THE MEDINA

Today we took off to explore the many many narrow alleyways of the Fes Médina. Someone said there may be over 9000 small pathways or alleys around and in the walled section of “old Fes”.while modernization is here and Fes has malls and upscale stores......for many locals...a daily or twice weekly trip to the  Edina is still the norm. One can buy anything. Begging was nil, but without a local guide.....who knows if we would ever find out way out of this maze...and yet, here are people in and out all day. We saw everything edible, and spices and clothes, and you name it. We even had lunch at a restaurant right in the middle of all the twisty turny area.  A young Muslim woman took us through the maze of alleys and shops, and she was very forthcoming about women in a Muslim society.   It was a long day of walking and on our feet, but we came back to our Riad and rested and got ready to go have dinner with a local family.
Our group of 5 was invited to visit a local family and see how a normal life with a family in Morocco is like. We were able to walk to their home and enjoyed a very warm welcome. The wife cooked a very traditional lamb tanging with vegetables, and we tried eating the whole meal with out fingers! Alcohol is never served....but we had a bit of a pre party at our Riad! Lol. Fruit is a common dessert in Morocco, and we enjoyed it after a wonderful meal. The daughter spoke excellent English, so she was doing much translation....but she was a spitfire and could handle it.  They always want to know if people (like U.S.  people) know about Morocco and what their impressions are. While we were there, the call to prayer was sounded twice, and the father got up both times and went to the mosque to pray.
It is so interesting for me to be in such a county that is 99% Sunni Muslim, but there is much tolerance and people here are exceptionally friendly and welcoming.