From Rabat we drove to Meknes, one of Morocco's imperial cities during the time of the blood thirsty king Moulay Ismail. He built a tremendous wall around the city, had huge granaries and had stables for over 12,000 horses. Even though he had great power, he was always afraid the Berbers would attack, so he certainly built fortifications to protect his interests. Everyone was afraid of Ismail, though, and even Louis XIV sent him gifts, one time 2 clocks, hoping he would stay in Morocco. As in many places, the tile work on the walls and gates is just amazing. We always go to the medina, or old city, when we can and this place was no different. Spices pilled high in stalls along with fruit, vegetables, meats, etc. Even though this is Ramadan, there will be a brisk buying time just before sundown when the fast is broken.
Volulibis was next. Several in our group was not happy that we went to the Archaeological Museum the other day, but I liked it. Guess it was because I did the dig in Israel 3 years ago. The items we saw in the museum came from Volulibis, which was a Roman city around 200 - 300 AD. But the site was occupied several hundred years before that. Even though the area has not been excavated much, it certainly reminded me of Epheses. There were enormous houses for the time (4000 sq. ft.), arches, mosaics in the floors, latrines, bath houses, sewer system, basilica, etc. The area that it covers is quite large and it would take many years to excavate it. The past excavations were stopped in the 70's due to lack of money. Too bad. There are plans to bring the museum to this area instead of having it in Rabat.
We travelled on to Fez, stopping occasionally to see little shops on the side of the road for the locals. On our bus travels we see sheep and goats grazing the brown land and have yet to figure out what they are eating. From our vantage point, all we can see is dirt, but there must be some type of grasses that they are eating.
Chris had seen in the guide book a place that has a show with folk and belly dancing. We were able to get Aziz to make arrangements for us to go. We had a little supper with the group and then took a taxi to the show. A man named Souci met us at the taxi and led us down the winding alleys to the restaurant/show. Going down the winding alleys between tall walls where houses were was similar to the way we reached the restaurant last night in Rabat. Chris video taped a lot of the dancing, and especially the musicians. The belly dancing left a lot to be desired. I saw much better in Winston-Salem with one of Chris' events. Drumming was great, though. There were other performances - drummers doing folk dancing, man balancing tea service on his head, etc. At the end several women were picked out of the audience, including Chris, to participate in a Berber wedding. Chris was a bridesmaid in costume. She was lifted high in the air on a hassack or something. Anyway, it was a lot of fun.
October 1 was a full day in Fez. Unfortunately, I have developed a cold, the first in over a year, and my stamina is a little low. Even if I don't feel too well, I am not going to miss anything. We started out seeing the 7 door gate of the Imperial Palace with a large paved colonade in front of it. Then it was off to learn how pottery is done here. This is the place for pottery. Because of the clay found in this area, the pottery is supposed to be the strongest and best. All dyes are from vegetables and do not fade or crack and the pottery can be used anywhere. I had been thinking of something for my front porch and considered a statue from the thuya wood. It seemed too expensive at the time, so I began to look at vases in this place. Of course, Chris was a big help. We had to spend a lot of time looking at various pieces, so the rest of the group went on without us while Aziz stayed with us. I settled on a 2 -3 foot vase with a top, with 4 handles and in a green pattern on off-white base color. We had to do some serious bargaining. At the end I bought the vase and got them to ship it as well as ship the table Chris bought. They even threw in a tigene covered pot for Chris at the end of the negotiations. It all will be shipped by air and I'll have to pick it up at the Atlanta airport. Remembering that I won't be home until Oct. 29, I will have to email the company when I get home to have it sent so it won't arrive before I do. This was quite an investment. Hope it looks good on my front porch.
The owner of the pottery factory, which actually was a co-op for helping people who have not been able to do well in the education system to learn a trade, drove us to the medina. Must have been happy to have my purchase. This medina is a place never to go alone. It is truly a labrynth of alleys. It is very easy to get lost. This is a step back in time. People carrying things on their heads, donkeys loaded with goods, live animals being sold along the way. Sometimes there was hardly space for 3 people across in the narrow streets. We even went into a tannery area with the smelly hides soaking in pots of lye to separate the skin. Then there would be donkeys piled high with the skins heading down the street. What a fascinating place!
When we finally got back to the hotel after having a carpet demonstration where nobody in our group bought a carpet, we found an internet cafe several blocks from the hotel. In the hotel the cost is about $12 per hour and here it is less than $.50. We have dinner with a family tonight. Should be interesting.
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