Fez Medina and Guide

Fez medina was on our bucket list. Having seen Bizarre Foods' Richard Zimmerman's take on one of the best-preserved medieval cities in the world, we too wanted to experience the thrill of journeying deep into Fez's bowl-shaped medina.

Once again we relied on Riad Laaroussa's recommendation for a guide to take us into the medina's belly and once again we weren't disappointed. Hamedo was a local. He had lived in the medina for some 40 years. Although he is retired, he still works as a professional singer. He has his own band and is quite the celebrity in this neck of the woods...

Did you know Fez medina is 50sq km? It has 11 main doors (gates or 'babs') and 9,500 alleys or streets. And there are many narrow alleys with low entries which stopped the 'bad guys' on horseback trying to attack those living in the medina during ancient times. It's a serpentine labyrinth where you undoubtedly will get lost if travelling solo. You can't get cars down the alleys either like the medina in Marrakech. In Fez the main mode of transport is on foot with produce transported with the help of donkey power. There are some motor bikes but very few. Some of the alleys are as wide as one person! Hamedo's passion for his medina was palpable. He wove stories of intrigue with factual snippets. He told us about the hinges on the cedar doors and how their intricate carvings earmarked home owner as wealthy, middle class or poor; we saw the 'kissing wall' alley where Hamedo once lived with its entry of around 1m 40 narrowing to 50 cm at the other end; he treated us to a private viewing of a riad currently undergoing major refurbishment to the tune of more than $200,000 euros,  and together we wandered around Fez's tannery. Hamedo pointed out work currently being undertaken to preserve the medina...8 years have passed and there are 12 more to go. Walls have been braced to prevent them from crumbling, cedar doors have been sanded back to pristine condition. It's interesting to see how things would have looked before age took its claws to the buildings and he showed us alleys that have been re-paved but I'm not confident it is altogether a good thing? Perhaps a little bit of Fez's mystery disappears with each refurbishment? But how can you stop progress and it is important to preserve this incredible place for future travellers to experience.