more respect for mel gibson
Morocco:Meknes:Hotel Maroc
because rumor has it that he stayed at the hotel du jardin publique when visiting fez during the shooting of Braveheart, this was the first hotel i looked at in fez, it definitely had character but so do many funky mushrooms and you wouldn’t want to sleep on them, so kudos to mel, perhaps the place had been cleaned recently when he was there or perhaps he has a skank fetish, either way he’s got a braver heart than mine…all this information provided by saiid the laid back carpet kingpin of fez, and he swears by allah that it is true…(he swore several times as a matter of fact, because i didn’t believe it)
fez is all about castle magic and most of its appeal i found in the stark intimidating junk laden and swallow haunted courtyards closest to the city walls nearest bab bou jeloud (baa boo joud). twilight here is mesmerizing chaos and color as the birds and pedestrians reach their peaks hours of hustle. the medina in fez is too rich to describe, there is too much to see and digest; food and spice souqs, artenisal markets, mosques, tanneries (where they defur the sheep skins), tiled water fountains, kids kicking soccerballs, tourists being herded like sheep on medina tours into and out of various shops. in the food halls you see shrines of olives and other pickled items, literally, piled up into colorful pulpits behind which the shop owner sits often listlessly or just entranced and blissfully zoned by the procession of bodies through the medina, medinalepsy i call it… but this is really culinary art at its pinnacle, next door a butcher pulling the brain out of a cows head, and when you think you’ve seen it all, a table of about a dozen sheep heads, row by row, alternating black and white, and various skinned pink and white corpses hanging from racks in front of the shop. and so i lived here for 4 days in the medina, in a room so small i had to turn the bed diagonal to lie down completely, and did much of nothing, met dan and steve from LA (we had the joy of having the same carpet sponsors), and thats really what its like, you get sponsored by some carpet ensemble and they butter you up and feed you meals, give you free tours of the medina, all leading to the big carpet sale at the end, where to be honest they are hoping to sell over 5K of stuff, and anything under 1K they are not too ecstatic about, but will tolerate, and if you dont buy, they arent mad, but their facial expressions suddenly and gravely change and all of a sudden the funs all over and the enthusiastic hospitality wanes dramatically…but they keep a stoic face about it in hope of future sales i suppose, and they really are nice swell friendly people at heart, you just wish you could be actual friends with them and not some consumer lure, but its impossible…
left fez for taza and the caves and jebel tazzeka but got sick on the way there or something and arrived sneezing and aching and fatigued, thought it was allergies but then i slept for 12 hours and felt the same so i had to decide what to do…too sick for the cave really, its a massive one, biggest in north africa that requires the whole day, and there are absolutely no other travellers here so getting out there is difficult, which leads me to this important observation about travel in morocco that i must share:
morocco is largely a place of mountains and cities in between. the cities are very underdeveloped, compared to europe, and there is so much to see in the countryside you end up wanting to divide your time proportionately…problem is, without a car these places can be difficult if not impossible to get to, hence i suggest travel in morocco with a group of people so that you can rent a car. also its difficult in slow season, now, because there is a noticable absence of travellers and that means fewer people to share cabs with, organize treks with, etc…
so i was illin and headed for meknes on a whim with the sole intention of convalescence. which brings me to another point, hotels. hotels in morocco so far have sucked mildly, not really bad but noticable. if it werenèt for the wonderful hotel morocco here in meknes i would say they have sucked pretty damn bad. most beds resemble bunny slopes rather than actual mattresses, and some have felt like i was sleeping in a satellite dish. not to mention the lack of hot water, IF it is avalable you will be charged about a dollar for a shower. but hotel morocco on the border of the medina in meknes is the best bed yet, its only 60 dirham and mr. abdul is a super little chap. firstday here i rested much and slept another 12 hours, feeling good the next. then i broke down and went to McDonalds because i needed some American Burger Healing Power and met 3 very kind university of meknes girls who showed me around qnd bought me lunch the following day, by far the most authentic moroccan hospitality experience so far, no strings attached, just friendly people interested in others…yesterday i made it to volubilis, roman ruins near moulay idriss, 33 km from meknes, they were nice being spring and all with flowers out and whatnot, but these ruins are not so spectacular and very ruined i might add, pompei is liveable in comparison, but all in all it was worth it…meknes itself has hidden charms; the medina has brilliant yellows is very peaceful, but the main square and plaza outside the palace are strangely forlorn and decrepit, empty places. the fountains dry or crumbled, there is litter strewn everywhere (its really bad), all the landscaping is about 10 years overdue a haircut, and weeds are growing out of the concrete and in between cobblestones everywhere. its really a shame cause if they gave these few plaza’s an overhaul, the city would rival fez
next: night bus to rissani where the desert experience begins…