Of all the cities in Morocco, we liked Fes the most. It's raw and authentic. It has that special charm and we felt like we jumped into some video game or a dream. I read that most people who traveled to Morocco didn't like Fes due to many scammers and narrow streets where you can easily get lost but if you take care and prepare yourself there shouldn't be any problem.
We had only positive experiences in Fes. Sometimes locals want to talk to you to sell you something and it can be a little tiring, but you have to accept that because this is the way things work in Morocco. If you don't plan to buy something, just don't start any conversation with them and walk on.
Fes is mostly famous for his tanneries which are located in the center of Medina. If you want to see them you have to go inside someone's shop and climb to their terrace to have a view. Mostly the owners of these shops want you to buy something from their shop in order to go to the terrace. We were walking through the streets and some guy told us that we can go through his shop to see the tanneries and that he wouldn't ask us for any money. We accepted and enjoyed the view.
This tannery is said to be the oldest tannery in the world. Leather production here has bearly changed for almost 1000 years. Hides of cows, goats and other animals are first soaked in a white liquid that contains several ingredients, one of them being the pigeon poop which helps to clean and soften the leather. It smells very bad but we kind of got used to it. 😅 They are then soaked in the dyeing solutions with natural colorants and after the dyeing, they are dried under the sun. No modern machinery, only manual labor. A crazy experience to witness all of this.
That's all for today's post, hope you like it. We'll be writing more about Fes and all the other parts of this fascinating country. Stay tuned!
All photos are taken by us.