fez_1 travel destinations Virgin Media
Virgin Media ventured to Northern Morocco to explore one of the world's best-preserved Medieval citadels.
Wandering the alleyways of Fez's staggering old town, it's hard to believe you're just a couple of hours' flight time from the UK, and a few hundred kilometres from the concrete Costas of southern Spain. To visit Fez is to step back in time; if you're seeking a true taste of the exotic Near-east with a liberal helping of enchanting sounds and smells, a bafflingly labyrinthine streetmap and an intangible sense of mystery, this place will tick every box several times over.
Once Morocco's capital, Fez is made up of three distinct areas. At the heart of everything is Fes el-Bali ("Fez the old"), a jaw-dropping walled Medieval city with cobbled streets, and UNESCO World Heritage status. Next door is the less manic Fes el-Jdid ("Fez the new"), an interesting citadel bolted on to the older quarter. Then comes the Ville Nouvelle, a new town that is grubby round the edges but feels ultra-modern in comparison to Fes el-Bali's car-free charm.
Of the three, Fez el-Bali is the reason to pay a visit, and its stats are mind-boggling; in an area of just a few square kilometres, there are almost 10,000 streets in which to get lost and 200,000 locals to offer directions. High walls still fully enclose the Medina so you'll literally arrive there by stepping through a gateway, and the relative calm of the area outside is replaced in a second by the old town's occasionally overwhelming bustle.
Within five minutes you'll have dodged at least one donkey loaded up with a whole supermarket's-worth of wares, said a polite "no thanks" to several invitations to browse a shop, and recoiled in alarm at the sight of a camel head strung up over a butcher's counter.
Fez el-Bali has never had much real need to change, so in many of streets buried deep in the medina you'll find artisans plying their trade in the exact fashion that their families have done for hundreds of years. Walk along one alleyway and you'll see a succession of cobblers' workshops; turn a corner and you're in the midst of a steam-drenched row of ironmongers; head onwards and suddenly you're surrounded by one slipper factory after another. In many spots you won't know quite what sort of trade or construction it is that you're looking at, but you'll still want to pause and watch with intrigue.
Much of the Medina's real estate is given over to shops and stalls, selling everything you can possibly imagine, and lots more. Whilst plenty of these do peddle trinkets for tourist, most businesses here cater to locals above all. So, whilst the Fez shopping experience does involve plenty of aggressive selling tactics, the Medina in its entirety is no artificial touristified theme park. This is a working city where everyone is in a hurry to buy, sell or make something.
