Morocco Travel Diary

26.12. 17:57
It’s been a while. It’s been such a long time that it feels a little weird to write like this again. But only for a little bit. The more I write, the easier I find it. This year, I haven’t travelled a lot. At least way less than last year. But even apart from travelling it has been a very difficult year. Probably the most difficult one I had so far. But I finally feel like slowly I’m getting back on track. I’m still missing one piece of the puzzle, but I feel super close to finding it.

Today we arrived in Fés, one of the oldest muslimic cities in the world. I’ve heard a lot about Morocco in the last few years. But once again, I cannot confirm the superstitions. At least as of today. I’m travelling with a friend and we were picked up by a driver at the airport. He couldn’t speak English or Spanish, but he was very nice. He brought us close to our accommodation, which is in the old city, the Medina. In there no car can enter, the streets are very small. But the owner of our accommodation picked us up from the car and brought us in. At first, I was a little uncertain walking around without a headscarf, my friend wore one. But once we settled in and walked outside to the markets, I felt more than ok. There were plenty of tourists and no one gave us a dirty look or stare. Quite the opposite – they smile at us, greet us occasionally, but no one molested us. So far every single person I met who has been in Morocco, told me that it’s not recommended to go as a solo female traveler, and that men molest a lot and are super annoying and try to sell something pretty aggressively. I cannot confirm any of that. The people were nothing but friendly, the majority speak English (more women than men) or Spanish and no one tried to sell us anything aggressively. In fact, we were invited into a few shops and they even said to just have a look, no need to buy anything. One of the sellers in the street told me to have a look inside to see his paintings and let my mind be blown. I did and it was very beautiful. He tried to talk more with me. I gave brief answers and stayed friendly, but he noticed that I wasn’t gonna have a big conversation, so he thanked me and said goodbye. Soon after, we passed by a local who brought wood for a fire in a bakery. I stopped because I was very curious to look inside. The locals noticed and invited me to go in. They seemed super pleased that someone was interested in the insights of the bakery. I asked if it was ok to take pictures and they agreed.

After walking around for a couple of hours, we came back to our accommodation to get some rest. The first day impression is definitely a good one, way better than I would have imagined by everything I’ve heard before. So once again I have to say: Don’t listen to other people’s opinions. Go and make your own.

27.12. 14:17
We started this day with a Hammam, a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited from the model of the Roman thermae. A worker picked us up at our accommodation and brought us there. It made us a lot faster, because the Medina (the old town where we are located in), is like a big maze. Easy enough to get lost in there. After our arrival and changing into bathrobes, we were brought to a private room, where two women scrubbed, peeled and shampooed us. It was very interesting and my first time. At some point, the woman who was attending me, showed me how much old skin she rubbed off. It was more than I would have imagined. The positive effects of a Hammam are:

• Deep cleansing of the skin
• Improved circulation
• Muscle relaxation and pain relief
• Respiratory relief
• Stress reduction
• Improved sleep quality

After the Hammam we were given a 30-minutes massage. It was nice, but I have to admit that I had better ones. One thing I didn’t like was that in the waiting area in front of the massage rooms were also men. And they showed the inside to tourists from the street. Obviously not into the private rooms, but to the area in front of the changing room. It’s probably because our Hammam was a very touristy one. I can imagine that in other ones it would be different. The tourists from the street were approached by a guy who stood outside and tried to get them in. But other than that, it was a very nice experience. As always so far, we have been treated very kind and respectful. Once we finished, the worker brought us back to our accommodation. On the way we stopped at a place to buy headscarves. I asked one of the women at the Hammam if she could recommend a good place to buy one. Before I came to Morocco, I visioned myself in an orange headscarf. We already checked out a lot of the market places yesterday, but no one had the colour I was looking for. This place finally had it, so I bought one, after a tough back and forth about the price.

During the Hammam, I got a few cramps, which is normal a few days before my period. According to my calendar, I shouldn’t get it until I’d be back in Valencia. Usually my calendar is very accurate, but the signs of my body unsettled me. So just in case I wanted to buy period products later today. Back at the accommodation though, I noticed I needed them right away, so I had to go look for a shop that sells it. Unfortunately, pretty much all of the vendors are men, and whilst I wouldn’t mind in Spain or Austria, it felt different here. Pharmacies were closed, and there were no proper shops in the Medina. So I had no choice but to buy at one of those market shops. I walked around a lot, but I couldn’t find one single female vendor. Finally I decided I had to buy with a man. So I walked the direction back to the accommodation and at a more quiet street, I saw another shop. I went closer and couldn’t believe my luck when I saw the woman inside it. She couldn’t speak any other language than arabic, so I showed her a photo of period products to make her understand what I needed. She was super nice, sold it to me and when I said Shukran (thank you in Arabic), she smiled and stroke my arm. So far in any country I visited I made the experience that locals like it a lot if you can say thank you in their language. So anywhere I go this is the first thing I let them teach to me.


19:10
After a little rest, we went to look for a place to eat and found one with a nice roof terrace. The restaurants here don’t have a huge menu, but there are always enough vegetarian and even vegan options available. After eating, I asked the waitress, how they usually wear the headscarf so it wouldn’t slip backwards, which happened to me all the time. She showed me a little clip she used and offered hers to me. I politely declined, and told her that I could buy one at the market shops. We first went to a shop that we already passed on our way to the restaurant, because I wanted buy a Kaftan that I really liked for only four Euros. The vendor was the nicest one I’ve met so far, he did not try to sell us anything, just had a normal conversation and even left the shop, when I wanted to try the Kaftan on, so I could have my peace. When I payed him, he asked if we were from Austria. I was super impressed that he could make out our dialect. He told us that he has been talking to tourists since he was only six years old. I gave him a little tip, which he appreciated a lot. We went on, and after a while, we found a shop that sold clips for the headscarves. There was a young man and woman, and I asked the woman to show me how to wear the headscarf properly. I gave them a tip as well. After that, we walked around some more. The later it got, the louder people on the streets were. Morocco was hosting the African Nations Cup, and we found out that Tunisia would play tonight. We saw countless men wearing the Tunisian flag either like a cape or drawn in their face. The mood was wild. There were so many people on the streets, it became a little too much for us. So we made our way back to the accommodation. Today, more men started to say something to me, but maybe because it was also busier than yesterday. One guy even asked me, if I’d like to have a Moroccan husband. But no one was molesting, coming close or following us, unlike the many stories I’ve heard before I came here. In fact, one guy even pointed out to me that 20 Dirham fell out of my pocket when I took my phone out. I didn’t get it at first, so he picked the money up and gave it to me. So after Day Two in Fès, I still cannot confirm the superstitions.

28.12. 16:05
What a day. We started it with a guided tour from GetYourGuide. It was through the Medina, the old city we’ve already been exploring the last two days. But the advantage with a guide was to get more historical facts, and we did. The first stop was the famous blue door, a very touristic place and one of the entrances to Medina.

We learned that Medina just meant “town”, but throughout history it became the name for the old town of Fès. Our next stop was at Al Attarine Madrasa, a 14th-century school for islamic studies oldest, and one of the few places that non-muslimic folk were allowed to enter. We asked the guide why there weren’t any mosques in Morocco open for non-muslimic people, because in other countries there are as long as you wear a headscarf. He explained to us that this was due to a law made while the French were ruling Morocco. French soldiers were scared that the Moroccans were plotting to overthrow them, and they figured to plot they would meet up at mosques. So they entered them without even taking their shoes off and took the people away. This was reported to military governor Lyautey who made the law that’s still in place today.

After the school we went to our next stop, a famous mosque we were allowed to photograph from the outside. Unfortunately, this was the last stop where no one tried to sell anything to us. The rest of the tour was more of a selling show. The stops included:

• a carpent shop
• a traditional pharmacy where they tried to sell skin care products, perfumes and herbs
• a weaving mill
• and a tannery

In the latter they gave us mint at the entry to avoid the strong smell of the tannery. It wasn’t too bad actually, I imagined it to be way worse.

The tour took three and a half hours, and we ended it hungry. So we made our way to a restaurant, another almost 30 minutes walk. We had a great lunch at a rooftop restaurant for 17 Euros (two people). We even had some leftovers which would later serve as dinner, just like the previous two days. To get back to the accommodation we decided to take a taxi, after researching the price and also we started to become tired of seeing the Medina three days in a row. Just like AI told us, the taxi was super cheap (1,5 € for a 5-minute ride). We left a little tip, and went gladly back to the accommodation. Tomorrow we plan to go to the new town.


29.12. 15:57
Today I decided to wear a headscarf for two reasons: One, I wanted to experience a day with a headscarf, and two, I wanted to see if the reactions from people would be any different. After our breakfast, we took a taxi to the new city. It was a 10-minutes drive for two Euros. Our first stop was the Paleis van Fès. It’s a very touristy spot, but it didn’t blow our mind. If you skip this, you haven’t missed out.

From the palace we walked next to the Jewish quarter, and sat down at a café for tea and coffee. Then we went on walking through the quarter until we reached the Aben Danan Synagoge. They charged 2,50€ to enter. It was interesting and had the possibility to walk up the rooftop, which offered a great view to the Jewish cemetery and the outer areas of Fès.

We left the Synagoge and went to a nearby shopping centre because we wanted to buy some groceries for dinner and tomorrow’s lunch. It was only a 10-minutes walk. We passed by a beautiful park. By now, my headscarf was slipping a little. So far, it wasn’t exactly a great experience to wear it. It blocked my view a little bit left and right, so I had to turn my head more when I wanted to see something. When my friend stopped a few times, I also didn’t notice. It was like I didn’t have the “corner of the eye”. Reactions from people were the same as the last few days: They all starred a little bit, but no one molested us. The starring might have to do with the fact that firstly, I still have blue eyes and it’s obvious, that I’m not from Morocco and secondly, I chose a very piercing orange, which catches a lot of attention in combination with the black Kaftan I was wearing. In the shopping centre, we firstly went to a bathroom, where I also wanted to fix my headscarf. Actually, there were a lot of women doing the same. I asked two young girls for help, and they smiled at me and made a lot of effort to fix it as best as they could. They told us, though, that the trick was to wear a headband underneath. That’s how it doesn’t slip. We thanked them, went on to explore a few shops, before having lunch. Eating with the headscarf was also less comfortable than without, but I guess it would also be easier if it were fixed properly. After lunch we took a cab back to our accommodation. While my friend wanted to rest, I walked around a little bit more. But before I went back out on the streets, I decided to wear the headscarf in a different way, so it would be more comfortable. This meant it would show a bit hair.

I don’t know if it was the new (and to myself more authentic) way of wearing it or the fact that I was back in the Medina, but I got lesser stares, even though I was walking by myself this time. In the new town we saw way little women with a headscarf. In general it seemed more modern there and we had the impression that the richer folk is living there. The Medina was very different. I looked for one of those shops that sold grapefruit juice. Ever since I first saw it, I was craving one, and I didn’t want to leave Fès without trying it. The juice was very delicious. Not gonna lie though: It felt like a relief to take down the headscarf.

31.12. 16:01
I’m already back in Valencia, I didn’t think about writing yesterday. In the morning, we walked up to Borj Nord, a weapons museum. Google marked it as a history museum, which is why I wanted to go. The entrance was quite expensive (6 Euros), considering that is was only a small weapons museum. But the views were incredible and definitely worth it.

After the museum, we went back to the Medina to eat something and find some postcards to write. Then we went back to the accommodation, after arranging for our transport to come pick us up earlier than planned. Four days in Fès are more than enough, and we already had to check out of the room. We both craved quiet and warmth, and therefore decided to go to the airport early. The Medina is super busy, and being around a lot of people for a couple of days was quite exhausting. I honestly can’t wait for my 10-days roadstrip start tomorrow. 10 days of quiet and loneliness. Exactly what I need.