Day 12 - Fes
So. Been a while. I have a fair bit of stuff to cover, so I'm going to try and be brief. Also, be warned that this is the first Qwerty keyboard I've seen in Morocco, and because I was getting used to the Azerty ones my typing is back to crap again.
Chefchaouen:
Ras el Ma - the water's head. This is the head of the river that supplies Chefchaouen with water, and it is gorgeous to watch it cascading down the gorge. Here you can see locals using the river to do laundry or wash bikes, etc. This was very pretty, and I could probably have spent a while longer watching it
The Spanish Mosque - a ruined mosque on a hill overlooking the town. It was a chance to see how the mosques are laid out here, since we aren't allowed inside them, but it was in pretty rough shape. I also couldn't figure out why its called the spanish mosque, since nothing about it seemed terribly spanish. It was nice enough, I guess, but I'm not sure if the hike up was worth it.
The Kasbah - the kasbah in Chefchaouen was converted into a kind of museum. We spent an enjoyable hour here, wandering in the garden and getting a little bit of a feel what the forts are like from the inside. There was also a museum showing off some traditional clothing etc.
Abdul Mohsin - this was the artist we met on our way back from our trip to the spanish mosque. We wound up buying two of his paintings, gave him copies of many of the pictures we've taken so far, and had dinner with him, his friend, and two Japanese backpackers. For all that we were switching languages two or three times per sentence, it was a very enjoyable dinner. It was very unfortunate that we had to dash out because of an allergy scare with desert. I would reccomend that anyone passing through Chefchaouen go visit him at his Gallery Rif Andalous.
Pension Souika - this was the hotel we stayed at, probably the best one so far. In spite of being tied for the cheapest place we've been, it was also the most beautiful, with nicely painted walls, carved knotwork in the ceiling of our room, nicely furnished common areas, and a terrace with a beautiful view. The staff was also very helpful, helping us get our laundry sorted out and reccomending a good hotel here in Fes.
... that covers most of the highlights from Chefchaouen
By contrast, the trip to Fes was rather unpleasant. It was five hours in a hot bus, bouncing up and down, without having had anything to eat yet that day. To make things worse, I spent the first half of the ride quietly fuming because the baggage handler insisted on gouging us for double the normal baggage charge, even after I made it clear that we knew what the rate was supposed to be.
Out hotel here is pretty nice. More expensive than in Chefchaoen, and not as pretty, but we again have a rooftop terrace with an awesome view. Also, having hot showers available around the clock at no extra charge is a nice perk - many places in Morocco charge extra for showers, and/or only have them at certain times of day (we have chosen our hotel rooms to avoid dealing with the latter firsthand).
This morning, we visiting the Dar Batha museum. Converted from a building that used to be used by the sultans to recieve ambassadors, it was worth the trip just for the architecture and the garden. Most of the collections (focused on traditional handicrafts) were pretty nice too. I wasn't overly impressed by the carpets, though some of the designs were cute. The ones that interested me the most were the displays of calligraphy and illumination, which were very intricate, and in a few cases remarkably well preserved.
This afternoon, we hope to get a look at a medersa (for the medieval arabs, something between a college dorm and a lecture hall) before returning to our hotel's rooftop terrace to watch the sunset and see the birds come in to roost, which is apparantly really impressive in Fes because of the truly rediculous number of birds here.
Chefchaouen:
Ras el Ma - the water's head. This is the head of the river that supplies Chefchaouen with water, and it is gorgeous to watch it cascading down the gorge. Here you can see locals using the river to do laundry or wash bikes, etc. This was very pretty, and I could probably have spent a while longer watching it
The Spanish Mosque - a ruined mosque on a hill overlooking the town. It was a chance to see how the mosques are laid out here, since we aren't allowed inside them, but it was in pretty rough shape. I also couldn't figure out why its called the spanish mosque, since nothing about it seemed terribly spanish. It was nice enough, I guess, but I'm not sure if the hike up was worth it.
The Kasbah - the kasbah in Chefchaouen was converted into a kind of museum. We spent an enjoyable hour here, wandering in the garden and getting a little bit of a feel what the forts are like from the inside. There was also a museum showing off some traditional clothing etc.
Abdul Mohsin - this was the artist we met on our way back from our trip to the spanish mosque. We wound up buying two of his paintings, gave him copies of many of the pictures we've taken so far, and had dinner with him, his friend, and two Japanese backpackers. For all that we were switching languages two or three times per sentence, it was a very enjoyable dinner. It was very unfortunate that we had to dash out because of an allergy scare with desert. I would reccomend that anyone passing through Chefchaouen go visit him at his Gallery Rif Andalous.
Pension Souika - this was the hotel we stayed at, probably the best one so far. In spite of being tied for the cheapest place we've been, it was also the most beautiful, with nicely painted walls, carved knotwork in the ceiling of our room, nicely furnished common areas, and a terrace with a beautiful view. The staff was also very helpful, helping us get our laundry sorted out and reccomending a good hotel here in Fes.
... that covers most of the highlights from Chefchaouen
By contrast, the trip to Fes was rather unpleasant. It was five hours in a hot bus, bouncing up and down, without having had anything to eat yet that day. To make things worse, I spent the first half of the ride quietly fuming because the baggage handler insisted on gouging us for double the normal baggage charge, even after I made it clear that we knew what the rate was supposed to be.
Out hotel here is pretty nice. More expensive than in Chefchaoen, and not as pretty, but we again have a rooftop terrace with an awesome view. Also, having hot showers available around the clock at no extra charge is a nice perk - many places in Morocco charge extra for showers, and/or only have them at certain times of day (we have chosen our hotel rooms to avoid dealing with the latter firsthand).
This morning, we visiting the Dar Batha museum. Converted from a building that used to be used by the sultans to recieve ambassadors, it was worth the trip just for the architecture and the garden. Most of the collections (focused on traditional handicrafts) were pretty nice too. I wasn't overly impressed by the carpets, though some of the designs were cute. The ones that interested me the most were the displays of calligraphy and illumination, which were very intricate, and in a few cases remarkably well preserved.
This afternoon, we hope to get a look at a medersa (for the medieval arabs, something between a college dorm and a lecture hall) before returning to our hotel's rooftop terrace to watch the sunset and see the birds come in to roost, which is apparantly really impressive in Fes because of the truly rediculous number of birds here.