Fez - a - licious:)

From Essaouira we first headed by bus to Marrakech followed by the eight hour train to Fez, the cultural capital. It was on this train that we were first introduced to the warm and genuine Moroccan people! There was a lovely lady who was friendly and interested in us despite not speaking English! We managed to talk with the help of a French phrase book and she even called her daughter who is fluent in English to talk and translate. Her sisters joined us in our train cab when the train stopped in Meknes. They were feeding us sandwiches and pastries shortly after sitting down! Later on she taught me how to do a head wrap as her sisters giggled at how I looked Moroccan! It was so lovely to meet locals not involved in the tourist industry with nothing to gain from you but conversation and friendship.

Once in Fez we headed to the medina (the medina is the ancient part of the city surrounded by large medieval walls and winding narrow paths only accessed by foot) and got a nice riad style hostel. The Fez medina was particularly nice and more spaced out than Marrakech. On first impression we immediately liked this city!

The following day we headed to the famous tanneries of Fez. This is where they process and dye leather by hand (or foot!) in large vats of dyes and chemicals. Pigeon dropping are used to soften the leather so the smell is insanely intense and almost unbearable. Our guide quickly handed us mint leaves to keep near our nose for relief. It was a really neat scene to witness from the balcony where we watched. I felt for the workers as the labor is hard, the chemicals they are stomping the leather in can't be good for them and the smell is unreal!! After the tour we were guided through the warehouses of leather goods. The smell of this fresh leather definitely didn't match the smell of fresh leather in Canada! Let the games begin! After deciding to purchase a few leather goods for home, “bartering anxiety” started to creep into my mind. The continuous bartering is a process that I am terrible at, thoroughly dread and exhausts me completely. Be it for a taxi fare or leather goods, when they start at 4-5 times the price it should be…you know you have a long process ahead! Mentally drained, we left the warehouse with a few goods and empty wallets :)!

The highlight of Fez was a cooking class we took the following day! It was held at the Cafe Clock and run by their head chef. She was really friendly, spoke fluent English and was a great chef! She had done the same class for Camilla Parker when she was in the city with Charles! She led us through the busy market place and explained how tied Moroccan culture is to its food. Everything is fresh and Morocco is fortunate to be able to grow almost all produce locally. We arrived to the chicken booth and selected a healthy looking free range chicken from the group. It was weighed for price and in the blink of an eye its head was cut off, right in front of us!! I was shocked and glad my vegetarian friends were not present! We came back half an hour later and it was plucked, cleaned and cut! Now that’s fresh! We learned that a butcher is highly respected and typically an older man with a lot of training. They wake at two in the morning to butcher the animals: adhering to strict Muslim techniques. First, they take the animal to be killed and separate it from the group as not to traumatize the other animal. Then they kill it with a really sharp knife in one stroke. The meat is always fresh as there are no refrigerators. New brides to be typically have to clean a chicken in front of their mother in law to be as a test before they marry their son! They clean their chicken with vinegar and salt and quickly Aaron and I learned the technique. We prepared lemon chicken and olive tagine, eggplant salad and almond macaroons (all gluten free!). I had a new found respect for their food and culture. I try to eat organic in Canada but this is as fresh as it comes! The food tasted delightful and it was an experience I hope to recreate for my friends and family at home!!