The people we met from Fes are fiercely proud of their city, and horrified that we had less than 2 days to see it. We made the most of our time.

The medina (old city) is the largest in the world, and the only one older is in Damascus. It is simply overwhelming and you get lost very fast. I have a new appreciation for Google maps which actually got us everywhere we needed to go, (but it drained cell phone batteries quickly!).

Aside from the souks (markets), we had a chance to visit two of the madrasas, or Islamic holy schools, that are open to the public. We started at Bou Inania Madrasa and finished at Al Attarine Madrasa.

I have visited a lot of churches and cathedrals in my travels, but they pale in comparison (in my opinion) to these places. Actual imagery (people, animals, etc) is expressly forbidden in Islam, so the decorum is all Arabic writing, tile work, and other designs involving carvings and paintings. The result is breathtaking.

Aside from the schools, we also visited the leather tanneries, which are now a protected UNESCO world heritage site.

The hides of animals are softened in pigeon guano (the smell is un-nerving so you’re given sprigs of mint to hold to your nose), and then dyed in vats by hand or foot, dried in the sun, and then scraped to soften again. The jobs are highly paid and highly prized and usually handed down generation by generation.