This past weekend was my last class trip, to Fez (on Saturday) and Meknes (on Sunday). In both places we did the usual historical stuff, and then we wandered around the medina. In Fez we were also invited to tea at the shop of an exclusive antique dealer. He was very friendly and went on and on about how much he loved our professor. It was interesting to be surrounded by these fantastic antiques from all over the middle east. Then, after tea, we visited the Jewish quarter, called the Mellah, and went to a Sephartic synagogue. I was pretty exhausted by that point, because the school is up on a mountain and my body has been having difficulties with altitude changes.
On Sunday, I was feeling better and I really enjoyed Meknes. The palace in the city is mostly disused now, but it was originally 20 times bigger than the medina. This was because the king, Moulay Ismail, was terrified of being attacked. He had tons of farmland enclosed by walls, and had massive grainaries built so he could feed his soldiers. But the real reason I enjoyed Meknes was because people there are content to go about their lives, so I felt less marked out as a tourist and was really able to see Morocco. We spent a lot of time in the medina, and I was able to see a lot of the local craftsmenship taking place. I have a free weekend the weekend before I leave to come home, so I may try to go back to Meknes. Its not as big and beautiful as Fez, but I really enjoyed the atmosphere.
Pictures to the right.
Love,
Jacinthe
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