friday, April 02, 2010
Departure: 01:50 PM Paris, France - Orly, terminal S
Arrival: 02:35 PM Fez, Morocco - Sais
pay for 3 nights hotel 4/2, 4/3, 4/4 (4/5/2010 checkout)
monday, April 5, 2010
Departure: 04:00 PM Fez, Morocco - Sais
Arrival: 08:40 PM Paris, France - Orly, terminal S
late dinner ?? in Paris
4/5 1 night at hotel luxembourg parc euro 216 per night
4/6 noon flight to HK arrive 4/7th
(should pick up CX tickets first as can always cancel or change dates)
- most complete medieval city
- the medina (fes el-bali) a tangle of more than 9000 alleys & dead ends
- temperatures low 20s throughout winter Fes: souks: Look for leather jackets, bags and belts, carpets, exotic jewellery and rainbow-coloured babouche slippers. With far fewer tourists than Marrakesh, its old town less comprehensively renovated, much of Fez has remained largely unchanged for centuries. There are magnificent crumbling palaces, ancient and beautiful medersas (Islamic colleges) and the largest and most atmospheric medina in Morocco. Spend the morning in … Fes el-Bali, or Old Fes, a tangle of cool, dim lanes and alleyways lined with stalls selling herbs and spices, pomegranates, dates and olives, unspeakable animal parts and mountains of slippers. Mules amble past, laden with skins, women stand and chat with cockerels under their arms, and from countless small workshops come the sounds of sawing wood or hammering metal. There is remarkably little hassle here, but take a guide for the first day to avoid getting hopelessly lost - and to show you the medina’s treasures, such as the ancient and very beautiful Bou Inania medersa,with its exquisite stucco and carved wood. And do visit the Tanneries – a medieval scene, where men haul skins in and out of great vats of lime and dye just as they’ve done for centuries. An excellent local guide is Ajebbari Lahcen (00 212 61 35 12 47), with impeccable English, but any of the above hotels will help you book a reputable guide. Lunch in… El Blida in the medina (00 212 35 63 39 75), for the lightest couscous, tagines and mezze of marinated vegetables and dips, served in traditional surroundings; no alcohol. Set menu about £10-£12. In Meknes (see below), Ryad Bahia (00 212 35 55 45 41, www.ryad-bahia.com) serves delicious soups, savoury pastries and kebabs in a simple, traditionally furnished, Moroccan-owned riad. £10-£14 a head, no alcohol. Stroll Around … Some of Fez’s gently decaying palaces, built and largely abandoned by the city’s great families, before developers get their hands on them. Among the best are Mokri Palace (£1.20 entry), its elegant First Empire style staircases bathed in green light from the Venetian glass windows above, and Glaoui Palace, where family retainer Abdou will show you the secret women’s courtyard, and open vast, intricately decorated doors onto a vanished world. Telephone to arrange viewing (00 212 67 36 68 28) and make a donation when leaving. Ajebbari Lahcen (see above) takes tours around Fes palaces. Buy … Chez Alibaba (00 212 35 63 69 32) sells wool, cotton and silk wraps and scarves from £10 (but beware the “agave silk” that turns out to be rayon). Look out for rose oil and cult beauty product argan oil in the souks, as well as saffron, glossy dates and aromatic spices. Other good buys from medina stalls are lanterns, mirrors and jewellery. Shopping hours are roughly 10am-7pm, closed on Fridays. Have dinner at … Fes doesn’t yet have much of a restaurant culture, and most visitors eat at their hotel. But the restaurant at Riad Fes serves well executed, sophisticated Moroccan food (chicken with saffron and almonds); menus from £28 non-residents, £18 residents, booking essential. ***Riad Numero 9*** is a petite, exquisitely decorated medina house, with excellent French/Moroccan set-menu dinners (£16) by arrangement (www.riad9.com). If you want a break from local cuisine, Majestic (00 212 35 72 99 99), serves good French/international style food in stylish surroundings at the Henri Leconte sports academy, 15 minutes from the centre. Stay up late at … Your hotel. Even the stylish bar at Riad Fes is quiet by 11pm - this is not a place to kick up your heels. Instead, have a sunset drink on the terrace of the Sofitel Palais Jamais hotel (www.sofitel.com), on a hill overlooking the city, and feel the hair stand up on your neck as the call to prayer reverberates around the rooftops and minarets of the medina. Recover at… Volubilis, about an hour’s drive away through the rolling countryside of the middle Atlas. This was once the furthest outpost of the Roman Empire in Africa and despite earthquake damage, the superb mosaics, reconstructed basilica, streets and shells of domestic houses give a fascinating glimpse into Roman life. A few miles further on is the city of Meknes, with a picturesque medina (smaller and reputedly less expensive than that in Fes). The town’s towering walls and edifices are the legacy of Morocco’s Genghis Kahn - Sultan Moulay Ismail. Richard Lawson of Yallah Morocco (00 212 61 34 28 89, http://go.telegraph.co.uk/?id=296X674&url=http%3A//www.yallahmorocco.com/) organises excellent day trips – as well trekking and riding excursions in the Middle Atlas. At all costs avoid… Coming nose to nose with one of the severed camel heads above butcher’s stalls in the medina.
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