An Incredible Experience... Fez, Morocco!

For our last field trip as a class, we ventured to Fez, Morocco and stayed in a Riad in the Medina which is the ancient city. Fez has left me speechess and at a loss for words. It was such an eye-opening experience. I will have to start at the very beginning for this blog, so here it goes!

When the shuttle from the airport dropped us off in the middle of the Medina, we all looked at each other in confusion because the pictures of the Riad did not look like they would be in the part of the city in which we got dropped off in. Then we were led into an alley and we approached the door to the Riad. We were greeted by the staff and brought inside, it was breath-taking! Without a doubt the most beautiful place I have and will ever stay. The main courtyard was once open to the sky but now covered by a retractable glass roof. The tile mosaics, marble floors, and plaster walls were so detailed that it was hard to imagine that someone did all that work. Me and Staceys room was a two story room with our bedroom and tea area upstairs on the loft and our living room, bathroom, and dressing room downstairs. It was really cool to stay in a two story room! The staff at the Dar al Anadalous was so generous and I will never forget them.

In terms of architecture, it really is a great city to study. The narrow streets of the Medina wind around in such an unplanned fashion: under buildings that went under arches that turned into wide streets with vendors and then narrow streets where your shoulders scrape the two buildings surrounding you. Walking through the Medina is very unpredicable and I loved it! The best part about Fez is that the streets are interesting but the buildings are not attractive, and then all of a sudden you walk through a huge doorway and up a few steps and you are in the most gorgeous courtyard or garden you have ever seen. Its interesting how the Islamic culture uses its modest values in all aspects of life, even architecturally. You would never be able to tell the beauty of a building in Fez until you stepped into the interior. I really enjoyed sketching in the Medina, needless to say!

Our excursion to the Middle Atlas Mountains was really really fun! I wasen't particulary interested in the two towns we vistied but I did really like seeing the water fall that me, Stacey, and Lauren put our feet in for the sake of a good picture! The car ride was so much fun! Our driver really liked music and he showed us how to dance traditionally. Then he sung us Arabic songs, and we sung him American songs. It was such a fun experience! We had lunch in the middle of no where and it was absolutley beautiful. We found a baby desert with baby sand dunes and me and Hawra played on them. Then we went to feed the monkeys! They were a lot bigger than I expected, but harmless until you tried to pet them. They only wanted food, not to be pet! Ask Nick about that, he got slapped.

Our guide Momo took us to some awesome places to see how things are made and good for shopping too! The ceramic place was the best by far. We all went a little crazy buying ceramic stuff, and it was so much fun. The textile place was next, I think everyone got something from scarfs to bedcovers, another really fun experience. The tannery smelt really bad and the stuff did not really attract me. The silver place was after that, I could have spent a lot more money but there was not enough time, probobly a good thing!

In the end, the trip was life-changing for me. It was weird to be the minority being starred at while walking down the streets, but I think its really good in life to be in those persons shoes for a few days and see what its like. Fez almost seemed like I was going back in time. It is still so primitive compared to Western societies. There are no cars allowed in the Medina, only donkeys which bring things in and take things out. Everything that is made is hand-crafted from pottery, to the fabrics. And to see the work people really put into these products makes you appreciate the things you are buying from them. The culture shock in Fez was intense, but I really liked it. It was so amazing to feel like you are in such a different, out of this world country. I'm so thrilled with how our Morocco trip went, it was definitly the most special trip to me and I will never, ever forget it.