Many folk who wander the streets of Fez have quaint names for various unofficial landmarks. The Street of a Thousand Thieves, Cafe Seven & 1/2 and of course, The Step of a Thousand Cats.
On a recent meander up The Hill of Mice, I turned right to head to the Talaa Sghira only to find that the door above The Step of a Thousand Cats was gone - replaced by a large single slab of concrete. And there was not a single mangy pussy in sight.
Those who know the spot will also know that the step was the entrance to a "public ablutions facility" for tourists. A wash room. A toilet. But it was more than that. Inside, in a chair, sat an eccentric gentleman whose preoccupation in life was cats. He fed and provided shelter for hundreds of stray alley cats. In the process he also provided a great talking point for the many visitors who stopped by.
The famous step (photo Rebecca Raft)Now he is gone. So too are the cats. In addition the "tourist circuit" also has one less toilet break on its route around the Medina. All of which will be missed, not least of all by the cats.
Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news
3 comments:
I might have one of the last photos of this land mark loo!!
What's really disturbing about this is that this washroom was totally restored recently (maybe 2-3 years ago), and the work was supervised by ADER. It's a shame if money is donated to do such projects and then there's no follow-up or maintenance. It would be good if someone could find out what happened.
How sad! This made me cry!
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