Day 2: Fez

The sun beings to rise as you're still in the air over the Atlantic, having breakfast, and approaching the coast of Africa.  It's not much longer now before the water gives way to land and you cross onto the coast of Morocco where you'll be landing at Casablanca's Airport Mohammed V.  It's a comparatively small airport by international standards and perpetually under construction, but easy to get around.  Follow the "Transit/Correspondence" signs for your flight to Fez.

It's a short hop from Casablanca to Fez where you'll go through passport control and customs at the Fez airport.  With a long history and heavy dependence on tourism, the usual formalities are quick and surprisingly pleasant.  As soon as you exit the customs area you'll see your guide waiting for you holding a sign with your name and/or SaharaTrek on it.  You'll be driven to your accommodations where you'll quickly drop-off your luggage and then get started on your Morocco tour.

If you had to choose one city to embody Morocco, it would be Fez.  Founded in the 9th century, Fez reached its height in the 13th–14th centuries.  The urban fabric and the principal monuments in the medina – madrasas, fondouks, palaces, residences, mosques and fountains - date from this period.  Although the political capital of Morocco was transferred to Rabat in 1912, Fez has retained its status as the country's cultural and spiritual center.

Inside of 8 kilometers of fortified walls is the tangled maze of narrow streets that make up the Fez medina, the world’s most complicated labyrinth city.  Designed to thwart invasions, today it mostly thwarts the independent tourists from finding their way.  Rest assured, with your guide, the secrets of the city will be be revealed and you'll miss none of the sights.

Architecture, mosques, monuments and palaces are the static physical evidence of Fez's history and culture.  But the living energy and soul of the city come from its people who go about their daily lives and practice their trades just as they have for hundreds of years.  As you are guided through the narrow streets and ancient souks, you'll see the artisans at work and have a chance to purchase the products of their skill.  Around each turn is a different souk known for the craftsmen who work there.  Cold, lifeless metal is formed into practical items and then reformed into works of art at the metal souk.  Turn a corner and you'll be confronted with the overwhelming smell of the tannery where raw hides are turned into world famous Moroccan leather. Turn after turn something new is around each corner.  The rhythmic clicking of the wooden shuttle as they race back and forth over the wooden looms, the hammering and sawing of the wood workers, the filing and fitting of the bone workers, all the sounds of the medina rushing together into an everlasting symphony of history and life.

The experience at times can be overwhelming, so along the way you'll have a chance to sit and relax while you let the experience soak in.  One of our favorite places is to get away is the shop Dar Zaouia.  A carpet shop located in a restored villa deep in the old city, the Zaouia is the only shop offering more learning experience than sales pitch.  While you relax in the cool quiet of the Dar and enjoy a glass of mint tea, you'll be given a lesson in Moroccan rugs from wool to spinning, dying to tying, and know the differences between a kilim and imperial which is only talked about by serious rug collectors.  And if you're interested, they'll of course be more than happy to sell you a rug or two.  Rugs purchased from the Dar Zaouia qualify for the Rug Guarantee.

After a full day of touring, you'll be taken back to your accommodations for the night.

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