This morning we got up and went down for breakfast, cooked and served by our hosts. It was the traditional breakfast of multiple bread types, honey and jam, however, the pancake (flat bread) was huge and we all ate it smothered in honey and were full quite quickly. At breakfast we found out that the music from the night before had been part of a wedding celebration, which was pretty cool! Before leaving we got some last pictures of the view from the rooftop and found the resident tortoise. The poor donkeys were loaded up again with our luggage and we made our way back down to the taxis.
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| Touching Tortoise. P.S that's not his head, that's a poo. |
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| VERY SORRY |
We were driven to a place called Volubilis, which turned out to be the excavation site of a Roman settlement that had once occupied the area. We were shown around by a guide for the site, who told us the stories behind all the well preserved mosaics. It was pretty amazing and unexpected.
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| Look up to the tree behind and you will see gigantic nest with gigantic birds |
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| LOOK HOW RIDICULOUS |
We were taken again by taxi to the city of Meknes, where we were met by the local Intrepid guide. Luckily the local guide was super good, who after starting off with explanations about the city and a nearby statue, waltzed off saying ‘Alright, let’s Morocc'n’roll’, and won all our hearts just like that. Just like Khaled, he was super well dressed and, not knowing they had rules, we all became very concerned that we were under dressed for a Moroccan tour.
We were taken to a huge ‘grain store’, with incredibly thick walls and tall arched doorways. Our guide explained that it was more likely used as a place for craftsmen and their horses to work, as the building got very humid and wouldn’t have been good for grain. There were also skylights, which indicate the need to ventilate the area, probably because of all the heat being produced by the workers. We walked to another area, which was now open to the sky due to a roof collapse. It’s suggested that the area may have been a stable for the horses, although our guide said he doubted a lot of the history of the building, and focused more on telling us about its architecture. He explained that the roof had fallen in due to an earthquake, and that it hadn’t lasted like the other roof because it had been flat. He also explained that the lush foliage inside, had grown from the plants that had once been hanging and growing on the roof, acting as insulation. There was also a point where you could stand, and all the archways would line up both in front of you, and diagonally, so it was pretty great to see.
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| Phoebs being a statue king |
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| Tsk tsk Ash |
After some time here, we were taken to a building that had once been a mosque, but as it now was used as a tomb, it is no longer allowed to be used as a place for prayer. We were taken in, and our guide explained to us the three different calligraphy scripts, and then led us through into the mosque. It was stunning inside, and the tile work was really fine.
Our two stylish guides led us through to the large main square in the medina and then through the souks and markets to have a look at all the produce and spices. We ended up stopping at two little shops on opposite sides of a small street, and we split into two groups. The one we weren’t in opened up to the street (as you can see) and was all pink and cute. We, however were tucked into the tight, hot back corner of the other one, although it was totally fun and worth it. We couldn’t see what was going on, but Sam took the camera to get some shots of our cook preparing camel burgers! Khaled brought us some of our fave Moroccan tea and then we were served our lunch, camel burgers! They were actually pretty tasty, served in a bun with salad and although there was drawer to put any leftovers in, we polished our burgers off happily. We finished off with olives, dates and fruit delivered by Khaled and it was all super yum.
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| #fashbros |
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| The authentic Burger* King ...*Camel |
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| The other shop! |
On our way back to the square, we were taken into two shops. The first was full to the brim of plates, vases, jugs and other housewares decorated with fine silver details. We were able to watch a man work his hammer and thin piece of silver to create the patterns, and it was explained to us that this practice was particular to Meknes. And then something very important happened. Khaled reappeared with a white cotton fedora and we’re all very taken aback by the change of head ware, yet still curious as to what lies beneath. For now we move on. The next was a shop full of embroidered fabrics and cloth, and although they were great, we escaped quite quickly when the owner started to do his sale pitch a little to forcefully.
Eventually we had free time, and as none of our 20-something group wanted to shop, we went to a café to get ‘nous nous' or ‘half-half’ of milk and coffee. In the end our guides had the same idea and we sat together and had a bit of a chat.
Once finished in Meknes, we collected our luggage from where we had stored it in the morning and took it to the train station, where we waiting for about an hour in the heat for a very late train. Once we got on, we squeezed ourselves amongst the locals and took the train to Fes. Finally settled into our hotel, we girls decided to get some wine and pastries to share in Sam and Phoebe’s room, as they had a gigantic room with a lounge area that needed to be utilised. The rest of the ladies went to get massages, so we extended an offer to Khaled to join us, which to our surprise, he took us up on. And then it happened, he appeared sans hat and we definitely did not hide our shock and joy. All of a sudden our solemn, quiet, forever hatted guide was a whole new man and he became super fun and relaxed. (P.S he has a perfectly regular head). We had a pretty good time and had chats, and found some interesting things out about his life and life in general in Morocco. At 8pm, we met up with the rest of the group and walked around the corner to a little soup bar, where we had Moroccan soup and skewers, and then finished our meal with some gelato. (Elise was very disappointed when her lemon tasted like vanilla). Eventually we all wandered back and like moths to flame, collected around the wifi in the lounge, before dwindling off to bed.
Love A&E
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