The trip to Fez began at the end of Day three, out of seven days we planned in Morocco. We were at Chefchaouen, finished our walking trip around the Madina and a bit more. And then we hopped on a CTM bus to our next destination, Fez. Our journey so far had been so eventful, which I am both thankful and annoyed. I broke my right eyeglasses on Casablanca, stranded in Tangier, and approached by a drunk trout at Chefchaouen. On a bright side, I had seen beautiful buildings, I had tasted delicious Morrocan vegetarian meals ever.
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From Chefchaouen to Fez
It took 4,5 hours to reach Fez from Chefchaouen by bus. As per October 2020, there are four times a day bus ride to Fes. The cost is 80-85 MAD (137,000 IDR/ 9 USD). There’s also option to reach Fes by Train. From Casablanca, it usually passes Rabat before arrive at Fez.
About Fez
Fez is the second largest city in Morocco after Casablanca with population over 1,2 million inhabitants. There are 3 parts of Fez city, the Old medina (Fez el-Bali and Fez El-Jdid), and the new part of the city. Some 90,000 people still live in the Fez medina. Famous thing about Fez is its tannery industry, and it has also been the main attraction for visitors and tourists. There are three tanneries in the city, largest among them is Chouara Tannery (source: Wikipedia)
Fez Sightseeing
We decided to explore fez using day tour that we booked in our accommodation.
Dar al-Makhzen (Fez Royal Palace)
First, we went to Dar al-Makhzen, a King of Morocco Royal Palace in Fez. This palace was originated from 17-20 century. We stopped at its main gate. In 1960 King Hassan II changed the palace’s entrance from the Old Mechouar in the north to the southern facing Ville Nouvelle in Fez. The new ornated-gate was built from 1969-1971. Visitors can only go as far as to this gate only.
The gate was very beautiful, with metalworks and tileworks. I love the patterns and the colourful details of the gate. The garden in front of the palace also complement the beauty of the palace.
Borj Sud
There are two towers in Fez, Borj Nord is the north Tower, and Borj Sud the South Tower. Both tower was established at 1582 and modelled after Portuguese Tower. The intention to build both towers was to protect Saadian from restless population in the old City El Bali. So, as you can see Borj Sud is the best spot to overlook old city from above. (source: Wikipedia)
Pottery
Our journey continued to a pottery, where we see some craftsmen putting up some colourful tileworks. The owner of the pottery demonstrated steps in tile making as well as pottery making.
Chouara Tannery
There are 3 big tanneries in Fez and the biggest one is Chouara Tannery. Tannery has stone vessel to store the dye for the leather. The hides use are from cows, sheep, goats, and camels. They are soaked in a white liquid from cow urine, pigeon faeces, and quicklime, salt, and water. The purpose of this initial process is to soften the skin and take up to three days. After that, the hides are soaked in colourful dye from natural colorants. The processes finish by drying them under the sun. These processes has not changed since medieval times.
The environment issue associated with tanneries is the use of harmful chromium in the tanning processes. The toxic wastes contaminate the soil and the river and leading to serious health condition. Efforts are in places to relocated some of the tanneries in safer locations
When we were there, the tannery was in cleaning process and was emptied, so we could not see the full process. However, we took a look at the facilities and the end products, which is very colorful and beautiful.
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