In exactly one month we will be back in Fez. It seems we have been away for such a long time and the sense of relief at coming home will be fantastic. The notion of making our way through the lanes to our riad and simply sitting in the peace and quiet away from radio, newspapers and television is sheer bliss. To wake to the call to prayer and look out into the courtyard at the light through the leaves of the lemon and orange trees...
Riad Zany is going to be undergoing some much needed restoration so there will be a couple of months of dirt and dust - but we will happily distract ourselves with a trip to the Essaouira Gnaoua Music Festival and then the fabulous Fez Sacred Music Festival with the added pleasure of Bono being around for the opening.
It is hard to explain how much we have missed the bustle of the Fez Medina, the sights, sounds and smells of the souqs - spices, food cooking, the dyeing pits, freshly cut cedar, mint - the taste or real mint tea, of proper couscous and tagines, of oranges that taste like oranges. After all the processed food and stale vegetables of the last few months, it will be wonderful to buy fresh herbs, fruit and produce from the souq just three minutes walk from the house.
And then there is the exploring to look forward to. So much of the old city awaits discovery. Steep steps, narrow tunnels and shafts where competing with overloaded donkeys is a risky buisiness. Architecture to take your breath away. Arches, bulging walls, filigree work... and as one observant visitor wrote "strategically placed logs that had been cemented into opposing walls to discourage mounted riders hundreds of years ago, it looks the way they tried but failed to make it look in a hundred movies."
Over on the corner of Derb el Hora, the snail seller will still be there, offering me a safetypin to spear the snails with... and down the street, Mohammed in his tiny little coffee shop with hot besarra and great coffee. In the food souqs, everything you ever dreamed of: photogenic piles of spices and herbs, counters of fresh cheese, leaf-wrapped wheels of goat cheese, tubs of curds, olives — every hue and type of olive filling barrel after barrel — dried fruit and produce, preserved lemons, grains, nuts, figs, dates. Delicious.
And, best of all, will be to to see our friends who we have missed so much and to know that walking around the medina we will be met by the smiles and greetings that make Fez such a special place. Fez. Soon. Inshallah!
Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news
4 comments:
Yes!!! The return to Fez...In little under two months my wife and I will return to the mystic and ethereal feel of the medina in Fez. Our second home away from home, Dar Bennani, is quickly becoming our first home in our hearts and minds. How often my wife and I sit back here in the states (NY) and smile over the many surreal moments we've had in doing the smallest of tasks, purchasing a loaf of bread, searching for beads in the souk or just getting lost to both the myriad of winding alleys and to ourselves.
Reflecting a bit....the many dreams and fantasies of this once young man could only envision the many colors, sights, sounds and endearing oddities of a world that so much resembled Fez. Now as adult, I lie quietly imagining a time when at a riper age I see myself sitting quietly in the courtyard of my home in the medina enjoying an overly sweet cup of tea with my lovely wife.
It seems all that is missing and likely always been missing in this strange journey called 'Life' are these moments.
Hopefully we can share a cup of tea in Fez when you arrive. Zany suspects she met you and your wife at dinner at Dar Seffarine with Kate and Alaa - She says "Lovely couple from NY. He spoke great Arabic and she was ... maybe an art historian???" - anyway, if not you have other folks from NY in the Medina! Hope we meet up, inshallah.
You write these things and make me long for Istanbul, and curious about Fez.
I love your book! It is being devoured here ... congratulations Sandy!
Thank you for the kind words about Black Widow. We have just heard that it will be translated into Polish and Slovenian with other countries negotiationg... so fingers crossed.
Don't be curious about Fez! Come visit! Kia ora!
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