Casablanca & Fes, Morocco

We rented a car, with full insurance, from Hertz at the airport in Casablanca so we could make our own plans and have the flexibility to pick up my niece (Glen's daughter) Teresa from the airport on April 5th. On our first full day we decided to get away from Casablanca and make our way to Fez for the day.

DAY TRIP TO FEZ
Fez is about 250km from Casablanca but the roads are excellent and the nominal tolls make it very worthwhile. Fes is a remarkable city; the medina is the largest medieval Islamic city in the world and a place where getting lost is an absolute certainty. GPS on the phone was no good and there are very few open spots to try and get your bearings. On our way into town we pulled into a parking spot but we quickly met a guy on a motorbike who encouraged us to follow him if we wanted to see the medina. He led the way and we followed him to a lookout point where his 'brother' emerged to offer us a tour of the city - we only had a few hours so we listed the things we wanted to see, he added some other stuff to the mix and off we went with our guide, Adine, in the backseat barking out directions. He kept saying 'right' instead of 'left' but we made our way around the new city streets to a ceramic factory for a quick stop, then to a parking spot on the edge of the medina, the old city, where the fun began.

Glen, Adine & I overlooking Fez

The medina is enormous and the layout means that it's incredibly easy to get lost and/or separated from people. At various points we lost Adine, his girlfriend Susana who came along for the ride, and another helper who we never formally met but acted like a spotter, calling out from up ahead, pointing down this alley or that, warning of steps, donkey dung, donkey's etc. As is custom in places like this we were directed to various shops but we never felt pressured to buy anything. The carpet store was absolutely enormous and so were their prices but our main goal for the day was to get Fez hat. Our lucky salesman was insistent that Glen and I dress up for a photograph which made for some good light hearted banter. With hats successfully purchased we meandered through the maze, watching the locals go about their business, avoiding the animals taking lots of photographs.

Fez from inside the medina

We were on a time crunch because we had to be back at Casablanca airport to pick up Teresa who was due to land at 9:30pm that evening. As it turned out we were an hour late thanks to a combination of a late departure time from Fez and some conservative driving on my part as we drove into the setting sun with a dirty windshield and poor wiper blades. By 11pm we were having a delicious dinner at a Moroccan tapas place and enjoying a difficult to find local beer.

CASABLANCA
We stayed at a place called Jnane Sherazade in the Habbous district of Casablanca about 15 minutes drive from the King Hassan II Mosque. The mosque is the largest in Morocco, the third largest in the world, and has the tallest minaret. It's setting on an outcrop looking over the North Atlantic is stunning but the area surrounding is dirty, muddy and not well maintained. We parked and wandered around the grounds, Teresa had her hands painted with henna and we soaked up the atmosphere. Each time we'd parked our car somebody always seemed to appear out of nowhere to help guide you in or out of the parking space. Presumably looking for a tip, but not obvious about it, I never asked for help so I never gave any money. It was one of those curious things where maybe I misread their hospitable gesture.

King Hassan II Mosque

King Hassan II Mosque

MOROCCO QUICK GUIDE
Capital: Rabat
Currency: Moroccan Dirham (USD$1 = Dh8)
Language: Arabic/French
Drive on the Right
Beer of choice: Casablanca