The Riad and the Panoramic View of Fes

After driving through typical Mediterranean countryside (so many olive groves!) we arrived in Fes. We knew we were staying in a "Riad"--a family home that had recently housed as many as 60 members of one family. But as the older generation died out, and the younger generation went to college and moved to the cities for their careers, they were down to about 6 family members living in a very historic property. So they converted it to a guesthouse, while retaining the traditional architecture.

We exited our bus about 3 blocks away from the Riad. Several carters lounged at the corner, their hand wagons available for hire to cart the luggage to wherever we were staying. Again--so nice not to have to negotiate that situation--I would have assumed that I should just wheel my own luggage, which was probably a Gross Insult to the Way Things Are Done.

The walk was unexceptional--the streets were not unlike some of the streets of Paris, lined with shops and tabacs and banks. Cars lined both sides of the street; parking is terrible everywhere, isn't it? None of which prepared us for the beauty Riad Salam Fez.

The central courtyard, which traditionally would have been open to the sky, but which was roofed for business purposes.

Traditionally, this would have been a garden instead of a pool, but beautiful nonetheless. The fountain in the back would have been in the garden and might have been original.

A closer look at the tile work on the fountain. My room was just to the left of the fountain, overlooking the pool.

One of the dining tables in the courtyard. Notice the carved wooden door and the multiple varieties of tile work visible.

Fountains in the courtyard serve as a form of air conditioning. The brass candleholders around the edge were lit at night and served as a sort of station to prevent people from tripping into the recessed star shaped base, with was also full of water.

Carved and painted cedar ceilings with traditional motifs

Tile insets in the walls.

The key to my room. All the rooms were given women's manes, I think from the family? "Kenza" translates as "treasure."

We then drove up to a high point across the river from the Fes Medina to see it arrayed before us in all its medieval glory!

Perhaps a more traditional photo will be easier to look at.

We met our local guide, Mohammed, up at this vista point, where he attempted to explain the city to us. There are three main sections--the 9th century medina (the "old medina") and the "new medina" which is from the 14th century. Then there is the "French part" which was built beginning in the 1920s. The Old and New Medina are inside the old city walls. There is also a Jewish Quarter, called the Mellah, which is actually located near the royal palace, because the then Sultan respected his Jewish counselors. There are still a few Jews living in Morocco, but most of them have left, many to Israel or America. There is not a history (that we heard about) of Jewish prosecution in Morocco, but it is the case that once Israel because a state in 1947, many people left many different countries to live there.

The day wasn't over yet--once we got off the hill, we went to a traditional pottery shop. Moroccan ceramics are well known and are for sale all over the country. This way, we were sure to be getting the real thing, and not knock offs imported from China.

The clay soil near Fes is particularly fine, and if I recall correctly, very white. The place we went showed us a master craftsman making a variety of forms--cups, candlesticks, vases--freehand from a single lump of clay on a foot-powered potter's wheel. Without stopping the spinning wheel he made the cup, cut it free from the column of clay, then immediately started on another item.

Dee Dee volunteered to try it out. Dee Dee also appreciates handsome men!

Once off the wheel, the pottery has to dry for quite a while, so she couldn't buy the cup she made. We went deeper into the "factory" where two men sat on the floor, chiseling tile mosaic shapes from squares of tile. Think about a square ceramic tile, maybe the size of one in your bathroom? It's been glazed and fired, so it's glossy on one side, and might be any color, but rough and unfinished on the back. These are the types of tiles the craftsmen take, and they use a brush to ink around a template to create one of the many traditional shapes of mosaic tile.



They then take a small hammer and break the shapes out of the larger tile. They are covered with ceramic dust, and the job looks like it would run afoul of every OSHA ergonomic standard. . . .

Inking the shapes on the tile on the left, using the hammer to cut the shapes out. You can see several different shapes and colors on the surface in front of each of them.

The end result is generally flat on the glossy side, but tapered below that. Eventually, the tiles are given to a master craftsman, who assembles the mosaic face down on a flat surface. He has to have the pattern and colors memorized, because he can't turn it over to see his progress. Once complete, he fixes the tiles in place with powered cement and water, and then fills in with entire form with concrete. Only after curing can he check his work.

The assembly of the mosaic is the highest level of craftsmanship in the shop. Employees work their way from the bottom through all the steps over years before being "graduating" to mosaic assembly. And even the maestro sometimes makes mistakes:

Can you find the one piece that is out of place? It's a puzzle, like Where's Waldo!

The courtyard has tabletops and fountains for sale--all of them are impervious to weather--at least that's what they said. I don't know if I believe that even concrete can withstand Minnesota winter temperatures. But so much available for sale, or if you prefer, they will custom build your preferred mosaic patterns in whatever shape you wish!

Meanwhile, what about the pottery? What about those famous Moroccan plates I mentioned! Here's is one being painted!

Blue glaze, applied freehand with a horsehair brush. The color is deliberate, it is the special color known as "Fes blue" and the Arabic calligraphy in the center spells "Fes."

One of my housemates put in an order--this was what he wanted as a souvenir from Morocco. And as long as I was buying one, I needed one for myself. So I bought some beautiful things.