We slept in for the first time since we left home as today was to be a fairly easy going day. After a very leisurely breakfast, we met up with Ibrahim for our half day trip to Meknes. Within an hour of leaving Fes, we were pulling into the medina of Meknes.
We started our visit with a look at the Agdal Basin, which was built within the kasbah by Moulay Ismail in order to supply water to the palace and the imperial city. It is said the women of the harem used to sail on it in tiny boats.
We then visited the royal stables, which seem to be undergoing some renovations.
The stables lead into the royal granaries or the Heri es Souani, considered to be the sultan's most impressive creation.
The huge building has 29 aisles with many storage rooms leading off them to store grain.
The thick walls and the network of passages maintained the temperature inside at a low and constant level.
The next stop was the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, with its imposing gates.
This is one of my favourite sites, firstly because there were no crowds, and secondly, because of its simple and yet stunning architectural features.
The structure consists of 3 suites, 12 columns and a central sanctuary where the sultan is buried. It was built in the 17th century.
In a departure from usual custom, the mihrab is located in the open courtyard.
The idea behind the smaller courtyards that one passes through before reaching the main one is to let people slowly leave the hustle and bustle of daily life behind as they enter.
Our final visit was to the imposing Bab Mansour el Aleuj, or the gate of the Victorious Renegade. It is named after the Christian who designed it and pierces the wall of the kasbah and has long been thought of as the finest gate in Morocco. The gate was built over the 16th and 17th century, and is faced with predominantly green zellij.
The gate looks out over the Place el Hedime or the square of Ruins, so named because it was laid out on the ruins of the Merenid kasbah that the sultan razed to make space for his palaces and gardens.
It was time for an early lunch. Given that we were heading deep into the Southern heartlands the next day and would swing back towards the north only a week later, we decided to fill up on what would soon become difficult to find food. Hence lunch was at, you guessed it, Mcdonalds, with Gordon trying out the McArabia, and me going with fries and cheese and jalapeno balls.
We drove back to Fes and checked out of Riad Fes, who were fully booked for this last night of our stay in Fes, which meant a transfer to another riad, the Riad Maison Bleue.
We stopped about 100 m away from the alley in which the riad was located, and walked into the peaceful, tranquil courtyard. After the check in, accompanied by the mint tea of course, we were taken around the riad, which is actually 4 houses put together, and hence was quite a maze. Oh well, its Fes after all.
It was also time to bid adieu to Ibrahim, who was not going to be with us from the next day. Since we were headed for the desert it was time to SUV up, and another driver would be taking over. Ibrahim was really a great driver, very patient and helpful, and his kind manner more than made up for his basic English. He gave us a cd of some wonderful Moroccan music saying " desert drives can be very long, you'll need this". A real nice guy.
We went into our lovely room and rested a while. Later in the afternoon, we decided to go back to the cedarwood shop and picked up a couple more masks for my folks, as well as a lovely carved stool from Chad. We wandered around the medina a little bit on our own, promptly got lost and had to ask for directions, but a fun afternoon.
Dinner was at the restaurant in the riad, it was quiet and atmospheric, and we had the usual fare of couscous and tagines, which were very good. We packed up our stuff, and readied our overnighter for the desert camp the next day. The Sahara was calling, and we were eager to answer that call.
