![]() ![]() It may seem like a vision from Arabian Nights, but this is no fantasy - Fez is a living, working city rather than one preserved largely for tourists, and it’s that character that makes it so bewitching. Its tangled network of lanes is home to extraordinary Islamic architecture - elaborate mosques, palaces and madrasas (theological schools) - but it’s the magic of the everyday that enchants most: artisans hammering patterns into brass, donkeys ferrying sacks of spices between the souks, the waft of fresh mint tea drifting from a doorway. Any credentialed guide in the Medina can provide similar services, but by the end of our time in Fes, we felt part of Momo’s family and world.To step into the Fez medina is to enter one of the greatest medieval cities in the world. It has been this way for a millennia and Momo loves to demonstrate how these traditions carry forward. Neighbors share walls, bakers, activities, religion and family life. The Medina environment continues to be a communal living effort. Some of the most incredible locations involved access into abandoned riads and palaces that were either in the process of renovation or looking for a sponsor. He had his favorite routes and off-the-map places. The Medina is crammed with stories and Momo started with one from his childhood, growing up in a nearby riad where his mother and sister still live. To get the most from a Medina tour, particularly in a mazed Medina so rich in culture, history and artisans, find a guide. A phone call and few minutes later and we had Mohammed Bouftila, an internationally acclaimed Medina guide, climbing into the front seat. He had taken great care of us for hundreds of kilometers and had one last suggestion for our tour in Fes. While we felt blessed throughout our time in Morocco, our Fes experience would be driven by divine providence, guiding us into not just a city, but into a relationship with a man that held it deep in his heart… “I know a guy!” That’s all we needed to hear from our I Tour Morocco guide, Hafid. Come in the evening if you crave bite-sized brochettes of tender lamb and spiced liver. The dishes served up here built this city and continue to do so every lunchtime: comforting bessara (split-pea or broad-bean soup) and harira (a Moroccan staple of chickpeas, lentils, and lamb broth) sardines doused in charmoula and deep-fried until crunchy hard-boiled eggs dipped in cumin. Around lunchtime, mastermind your way deep into the souks to find the Achabine area, where the city’s best street food vendors ply their trade. Don’t miss seeing the infamously grumpy camel butcher whose signage is a real camel’s head hanging from a hook. In addition to browsing stalls of plump fruit and vegetables from farms in the Middle Atlas, you can snack here, too: hot trid-a gossamer-thin pastry baked over a rounded clay pot or “egg”-and irresistible meloui (multiple layers of dough that become soft and flaky as they are cooked) stuffed with spiced onions. ![]() when the market really gets going (by 11:30 a.m., it’s packed). To immerse yourself in the life of a Moroccan housewife, take a stroll through the fresh-produce market of R’cif, which winds through the lower part of the Fes medina. ![]()
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