Shortly after leaving Rabat for Fes, a pickup truck with a horse in the back appeared on the highway. Issam, our guide, explained that this horse was going to a Tbourida, or what the French call a Fantasia.
A Tbourida is a gathering of possibly 100 teams each of 15 stallions and riders who compete based on their coordination racaing down a field, waving a musket, and finally letting off a shot at the finish line. The top few teams from each Tbourida compete in the Royal Palace complex against Mohammad VI’s horses in a grand finale. For some great action photos, see http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3838186/Tradition-art-blend-Morocco-tbourida-cavalry-charges.html.
A few more miles down the road, we saw a Tbourida in the early stages of preparation. Tents had been erected, many horses, some with their brightly coloured saddles, all tethered at the front leg were spread out in a field. We left the bus to take a look.
One team invited us into their tent for tea and then, in what I thought was an amazing display of hospitality but Issam says is typical, asked us to stay for lunch – all 14 of us!
We stopped on the way to our riad at a CarreFour where there was a liquor store. Issam warned us that the three nights following our stay in Fes would be dry, so we would have to stock up. Which we did. On Moroccan wines which are pretty good!
Fes has three cities, an ancient one founded in the 8th century, an old one dating from the 12th century, and new one which was built after the arrival in the French in 1912. The photo below is a view of the ancient city from a fortification south of the city.
A word about Fes vs fez. Fes, pronounced with an S at the end, is the city while fez with a Z at the end is the hat.
We are staying in a riad – a house behind a blank wall with an interior courtyard and garden. Tiles decorate the floors and walls, and carved plaster surrounds many of the interior windows. To reach my room, I take the elevator to the third floor. It opens onto the rooftop deck which I cross and take a flight of steps down. I tried to find a different route, but got lost.
Our second day in Fes started out with a walk through the medina in the old city. The Royal Palace in Fes has the largest palace grounds in the world, including stables for an extensive collection of horses and a large tbourida site. The main door in the gate provided a backdrop for a young woman posing for photos.
We walked through to the market which was buzzing with activity. Men with pushcarts or mules or horses delivering goods to vendors or taking them away. Families shopping. Tourists clogging up the works! It’s a wonderful place to do a little people watching.
Fes’s ancient city has survived from medieval times. The souk’s alleys and lanes are some of the narrowest in Morocco so the market feels much busier than in the (somewhat) more modern old city.
A visit to Fes is not complete without a visit to the leather dye pits. These pits and the work process have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The dyes are all natural colours, and the process organic.
Some of us, myself included, are coming home with made-to-measure – in just a few hours! – jackets. Jackets and coats for women are made from goat hide because it is lighter and softer than the cow hide used for men. The slippers in the header photo at the top of this post are made of leather dyed in these pits.
We ended our second day in Fes with a home visit. Six of us dined at the home of Mohammad and Nadia and their son, a middle class Fes family. Mohammad told us his family history – though his day job is in real estate, he had spent thee day shearing sheep on his family farm. He regaled us with the story of how he and Nadia met – he saw her waiting to cross the street and decided she was the one for him – and we viewed their wedding photos. We described what we did and discussed various differences between attitudes in Morocco and North America. Dinner consisted of appetizers – vegetables, lentils, etc. – and a lamb tagine. Dessert was fresh orange slices sprinkled with cinnamon, a dish we all agreed was our favourite!
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