20 May 2023, Fes
Maison du Lac R495 [DH260]
Ali Baba (Charl's local nickname) and the Berber water salesman. Cold water is poured from a goatskin pouch into a brass cup. The cups are used by other customers too!
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We had only one remaining item on our Fes to do list: to eat pastilla, a Fes speciality. "Pastilla is a rustic, sweet-and-savory North African chicken pie made of a tender shredded chicken filling and shaved almonds, seasoned with warm spices, and nestled in layers of flaky phyllo pastry."
When we Googled the top ten places to eat pastilla in Fes, an expensive and appealing contender was Riad Rcif, former home of a former governor, now a boutique hotel and restaurant. You may remember that a riad is a house built around a courtyard.
OK, so having spent some time wending our way through a confusion of medina alleys, we knocked on the door, took one look at the menu, and knew not only was anything at all on it out of our price range, but even had we chosen to splurge an entire day's budget on a light lunch, we did not have sufficient cash on us and were not carrying our credit card. I do not think the polite but slightly haughty man who had welcomed us in was surprised when we said we could not after all afford to stay for lunch. To his credit, he allowed me to take several photos of two stunning courtyards before bidding us farewell. So this is how the other half live...
Luckily we were not at all disappointed by our second choice, The Ruined Garden, another surprise haven in the heart of the medina.
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Bear in mind that stepping away from the one or two main pedestrian streets running through the Fes medina (old walled city) guarantees you getting lost. At 220 hectares, this is the largest medina in the world with, according to NatGeo, 9,000 alleys and 40,000 deadends!
Google Maps tries hard, but is no match for the narrowness of the alleys, the tallness of the old buildings, and the frequent overhead coverings that hem you and your phone in!
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210 hilly km lie between Fes and Chefchaouen to the north, our next destination. Beginning tomorrow, we will spend five days getting there.