FES’

We left Rabat and the coast today and turned inland for a 3 1/2 hr ride to the ancient city of Fes. We stopped at a local market on the way to take buy and take fruit to our Riad we would be staying in for 3 days. I had been practicing my Arabic and with the help of Mohamed, I  made the purchase of bananas and grapes....and paid...all in Arabic. Feeling proud for about I minute! Then we went and had noose noose...which was basically excellent coffee with half milk.

We traveled thru miles and miles of olive,cork trees, and vineyards and the edge of the middle Atlas Mts. until we reached Fes. There is “new” Fes, which is wide streets and modern and totally French influence. And there is Middle Ages Fes, with its narrow winding streets and beautiful Riads, which are basically old Arab houses. We are staying at Riad Mariana, which is an UNESCO site and was restored to strict standards to keep the old traditional way. We met the family who own it and are being treated as their friends, not tourists. We had a wonderful lunch and settled in, before headed to our big bathing excursion at a tradition Moroccan Hamman,  Before dinner , we walked around to get oriented in our local area, and when we returned we enjoyed our wine up on the roof of the Riad,, while the sun was setting and the call to prayer was sounding.