Admittedly we got off on a bad foot with Meknes, but with the daybreak things got better. Since our shower was inoperable I used my wizard outfit to duck into the vacant adjoining room which had a working toilet and shower.
We attempted to make a hasty escape but before we could make it to the door we were escorted to a full breakfast complete with more piping hot mint tea which Moroccans have an innate ability to handle without burning their hands. The teacups here do not have handles so we are not sure if this heat tolerance comes from years of building up calluses or just general badassery.
We headed for our first stop but were once again turned around by the awesomeness of the medina. Fortunately this time we stumbled out of it right next to our car which had been vandalized with what I'm guessing is the U.S.equivalent of wash me. After our small detour we eventually made it up to where we had originally planned to go, Bab Mansour. Most of the places that have bab in the name are just giant gates, but this one had some weird open mud pit inside. Not really sure what we were supposed to see.
On out way out we happened upon a gift shop that we thought may be government sanctioned which basically means higher fixed prices but no haggling. This was not the case but since we were the first customers of the day the artisan claimed we would get a quite a deal. This is not the first time we have heard this angle. He told us that he was not a business man but rather an artist and because of this we would get a better deal. A wealth of 'artifacts' lay before us on the first floor and the upstairs was full of rugs.
They started throwing rugs down on the ground but I had already spotted the one I liked which was laid out in the corner when we arrived. This rug turned out to be made of silk with a sticker price of 60,000 dh. Tim wandered away and pretended to be interested in the ceiling while I attempted to haggle down the price of the silk rug. I was fed the following lines. "You say your price; I will not be mad, I will always have a smile.", "You may be surprise I give you deal of century." He showed me the authenticity of the silk by holding a lighter to the rug and when he realized my price was not in his ballpark we moved onto cheaper varieties. I eventually settled on one that was also silk but not as well crafted as the $7,000 rug. We moved downstairs where we both picked up with a few additional items.
Tim spotted a tea pot he liked and was unsure if he wanted it. He walked away from a it a few times but the Moroccan charm sunk in and he was talked into buying it. It bares a resemblance to a genie lamp shaped like a camel. It looks like it either belongs in a museum or a nomads camp site. They called Tim berber and claimed he had got a catastrophic deal. It was not long after that buyers remorse set in for both of us. You win this round salesmen.
They started throwing rugs down on the ground but I had already spotted the one I liked which was laid out in the corner when we arrived. This rug turned out to be made of silk with a sticker price of 60,000 dh. Tim wandered away and pretended to be interested in the ceiling while I attempted to haggle down the price of the silk rug. I was fed the following lines. "You say your price; I will not be mad, I will always have a smile.", "You may be surprise I give you deal of century." He showed me the authenticity of the silk by holding a lighter to the rug and when he realized my price was not in his ballpark we moved onto cheaper varieties. I eventually settled on one that was also silk but not as well crafted as the $7,000 rug. We moved downstairs where we both picked up with a few additional items.
Tim spotted a tea pot he liked and was unsure if he wanted it. He walked away from a it a few times but the Moroccan charm sunk in and he was talked into buying it. It bares a resemblance to a genie lamp shaped like a camel. It looks like it either belongs in a museum or a nomads camp site. They called Tim berber and claimed he had got a catastrophic deal. It was not long after that buyers remorse set in for both of us. You win this round salesmen.
Although we felt we could have gotten a better deal we were both satisfied with our purchases. On the way back to the car Tim decided he had a taste for a couple of oranges. We stopped at a street side food cart and he asked for two oranges. The shop keeper proceeded to fill a large bag with oranges. I pointed out that the merchant thought we had requested two kilos and not two oranges. Tim then stopped him and attempted to clarify he wanted just two oranges. He demonstrated his point by picking up what happen to be the two smallest oranges in the bin and holding up two fingers. The man emptied the bag and proceeded to fill it again, this time with the smallest oranges in the bin. We weren't sure what 2 Kilos of tiny oranges would cost but it came out to around $1 us.
Our next stop was the Moulay Ismail stables where 12,000 royal horses were once housed. We were instantly approached by guides who told us the property was an astounding 40 hectares of land and we would be silly to try and cover it all on our own.
We often found ourselves breath-taken by Utah's beauty.
It was extremely large but easily covered by foot and with only one way to go a guide was hardly needed. We were also broke by this point and would not be able to pay the man even if we wanted him to walk us down a long hallway. Having seen everything we had planned to see in the city center we headed out of town to an ancient city whose name sounded more at home in an female anatomy book. We were off to Volubilis.
Once again we were told the property was, you guessed it, 40 hectares big. Somehow we managed to navigate this almost unheard of distance without the aid of a guide.
On our way out a man who was just standing around by the cars requested money from us for 'protecting' our car. We were in the middle of nowhere and there was no chance of anything happening to our car. He did nothing. We got in and attempted to leave and he started banging on the driver window. In the most polite way possible we told him to buzz off and started our journey to Fez.
We have found that street signs, traffic lights, and lane markers are merely a suggestions while driving in Morocco. The stop lights tend to be an ongoing struggle as you cannot see the signal if you are the first car in line. You have to wait for the driver behind you to honk before you have any idea that the light has changed.
We have found that street signs, traffic lights, and lane markers are merely a suggestions while driving in Morocco. The stop lights tend to be an ongoing struggle as you cannot see the signal if you are the first car in line. You have to wait for the driver behind you to honk before you have any idea that the light has changed.
Finding our hostel was the usual adventure. We parked the car and walked into the Medina where we were immediately met with annoying young men attempting to be our guides and refusing to take no for an answer. After turning down one guide multiple times he turned to us and said "now I will show you my other face. So go back around and fuck yourselves." Ignoring this we pushed past him and entered the labyrinth. To give you some perspective, the size and density of this Medina it is approximately 1.2 miles in diameter with just under 10,000 streets and over 500,000 occupants.
After being avoiding multiple groups of other hustlers we finally stumbled upon the main drag of the Medina. At one point we stopped to get our bearings and a nice shop owner pointed us in the right direction. We found a alley that we suspected the hostel resided on and as we headed down it another hustler pounced on us. He asked if we we we needed lodging and that the only thing down the road was Dar Hafsa. Being that this was where we were to stay we said we know and continued walking. He let us be shortly after but had unknowingly confirmed we were on the right track. A few heel clicks were in order as the hostel was right around the bend.
Our room even has a TV, a first for us both. It is filled with 1000 channels of non smiling people
The hostel is owned by the nicest of owners who tended to all of our needs including getting us an escort to dinner.
And we even had a dining buddy, meet Sassy Cat.
