Spring in Fez

A recent visit to the garden nursery in the Mellah showed the View from Fez team that spring has arrived in Fez.

the Mellah nursery

The river running through the nursery was in full spate after recent heavy rains. The results of this rain is evident in the superb array of vegetables now available in the medina souks - much better than you'd find in any of the Ville Nouvelle supermarkets.

Orange flower buds are now for sale throughout the medina. Moroccans use them to make orange flower water in home stills - the water is then used as a cosmetic and to flavour food, particularly desserts and pastries, and for sprinkling around the house. It's also used in Sufi ceremonies. You can see these small zinc stills being made in some medina shops, and sometimes you might spot an old copper still, particularly in Seffarine square. On a walk through the gardens at Dar Pacha Tazi, the air was redolent with the scent of orange blossom.

Orange flower buds for sale at Saghra market

With sunny weather and temperatures in the low twenties Celsius forecast for the next week, spring is definitely in the air.