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Discovering
Fès
by
Jerry W. Bird
 Africa
Travel Magazine had the tour of a lifetime at the
ATA 6th Cultural and Ecotourism Symposium in
Fès, Morocco's Imperial City. Even though
the ATA conference agenda was stretched to the
limit, many took time off to visit the Medina and
other historic attractions that make this great
city such a magnet for those interested in the
cultural aspects of tourism. Fortunately, being
mostly travel agents and tour professionals, many
will return as hosts of their own escorted tours of
Morocco. After all, that's the main reason why
hundreds of us from the USA, Canada and Africa
Chapters get together at least twice a year in a
different African city. By the way, this is our
encore for Morocco; a very successful, fun-filled
event was held in Marrakech six years before.
Although my time was short, I journeyed into the
heart of the Medina for several hours, where, among
other experiences, I was given a short course in
the making of carpets, Moroccan
style.
 This
phase of my education was prompted by a breakfast
conversation that same day with my friend and
colleague Council Irwin, a Travel Agency owner and
President of ATA's Detroit Chapter. Council has
several of these beautiful carpets in his home. He
aroused my curiosity enough that I made it a point
to seek out and interview Omar, who owns a carpet
store with a seemingly endless inventory (see above
photo) . Myself and others will expand on this
fascinating story about Moroccan carpets and other
facets of our visit to Fès later as we
continue our series on the Great Cities of Morocco.
We will also provide interesting background
information from the Morocco National Tourist
Office such as the following.
Facts about
Fès
 Located
in the Fès -Boulemane region (altitude:
415m/1300ft, on the Saiss fertile plains, between
the rich Middle Atlas and Rif forests, Fès
is the very pulse and the cultural, intellectual,
and spiritual capital of Morocco. Inherited from
time immemorial when Fès, then an imperial
city, ruled over most of the Maghreb, a multitude
of vestiges and treasures are only waiting to be
discovered by its visitors, notably behind the
walls of its haunting medieval city, the Medina. A
spiritual Tourist Mecca thanks to its famous
Karaouiyne formerly attended by great scholars from
around the world. Fès is also the guardian
of Arabic-Moorish art.
  The
Fès medina is famous for its merchants, its
artists and talented craftsmen still carrying on
the trade traditions. Its many quarters are
specialized by guilds, and the crafts industry is
the drving force behin the old city. Among the
special crafts Fez is famous for : fine
woodcarving, brassware, silks, pottery, leather
goods and bookbinding. Andalusian music, Berber
songs and dances are equally
appreciated.
The Medina hides
numerous aristocratic mansions and magnificient
palaces that, from the outside, you cannot even
begin to imagine exist., Wandering around the
maze-like narrow streets of Fez you are taken back
into the past, witnessing its social and cultural
treasures and minglings. How many Arab,
palestinian, Berber, Andalusian or Saharian
civilizations have left their marks in the area
Visiting this amazing city teeming with life and
history, with past and present subtly interwoven
into its very deep recesses, is both mind-boggling
and fascinating.
 Exploring
Fez, the visitors can experience a journey that
will throw them, beyond biases and prejudices, into
the living memory of a civilization close to the
one of medieval Europe. Through the violent clashes
of centuries and cultures, they might think they
are going back in time. A stay in Fez, on the other
hand, is not complete without a taste of the Fassi
cuisine, one of the most renowned in Morocco and
the world.
Photos
by Muguette Goufrani
More
about Fex and area
Jerry W. Bird is President of ATA Canada Chapter,
Editor and Publisher of Africa Travel Magazine, and
Webmaster for the ATA site www.africa-ata.org. He
is also Publisher of Air Highways Magazine, the
Journal of Open Skies, featuring aviation, tourism,
transportation and business worldwide. His career
began with the Edmonton Journal Daily Newspaper,
and expanded into the full spectrum of media -
radio, television, magazines and Internet. He has
won international awards for creativity in audio
visual and print production.
Photos
by Muguette Goufrani
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