Wednesday 4th March 2020

Fez to Meknes : Bab Mansour : Berber Auction :

Place el-Hedim

Today we leave Fez and travel the short distance to Meknes.  Fez is an extremely interesting city and we have thoroughly enjoyed our stay.

While the riad’s architecture is stunning, hospitality and being made to feel welcome unfortunately left a lot to be desired!

The train journey took just 40 minutes passing through fertile plains.  Dave spotted some storks flying over some olive trees, but we didn’t have a camera handy.

Meknes is another of the four imperial cities, the historical Moroccan capitals.  The others are Marrakech, Fez and Rabat. Meknes is the lesser known of the four and is the least touristy.

A taxi dropped us off at one of the pedestrian gateways to the medina, just a few steps from the riad.  Ashraf greeted us and served us the traditional mint tea.  He gave us lots of information and offered to go to the bus or train station to get tickets for our onward journey.  He was an extremely pleasant young man.

Ashraf showed us around the riad.  Two houses have been joined together and some skilful decorative tiling is still in progress.

The riad’s only suite has one wall made in the traditional manner, using the materials mud and straw. The effect is quite impressive.

The central courtyard is open to the elements and therefore at this time of year a tarpaulin is pulled across the opening at night.

 

Arriving at our room, we saw that it didn’t have a lock on it.  Ashraf told us not to worry as there was only him there. Plus of course the cleaning staff and other residents, I thought. He added that there was a safe in the room and proceeded to pick it up and show us it.  The dimensions were around 25cm x 20cm x 20cm.  “You can take the key out with you” he said smiling, attempting to reassure us! Actually, we could take the safe!

Dave and I laughed when he had left.  A few minutes later, he returned with a padlock and proceeded to fix it onto our door.

The room appeared to be fine, large wicker baskets on a metal frame were in place of a wardrobe. Behind a wall, three steps led to a doorless bathroom.

Apparently, the riad has a ‘sister’ riad, where dinner could be taken if we wished; massage and hammam facilities were also available.

Deciding it was time for a snack lunch, we headed out.

A couple of minutes later, we were facing the monumental Bab Mansour.

This impressive gateway was commisioned to be built by the founder of Meknes, Sultan Moulay Ismail in the late 17th century.  It was, however completed during the reign of his son in 1732.  The grand gateway is often referred to as Morocco’s most beautiful gateway.

Looking around, we spotted a cafe bar where we could have a bite to eat while continuing to admire the amazing architectural sight.

Having read somewhere that a Berber Auction took place every afternoon in the souk, we set off to try and find it.

We came across around thirty females waiting patiently, all with either shopping trolleys or huge plastic bags. It all seemed rather confusing and nothing really seemed to be happening. Perhaps it was a silent auction, I thought.

Fortunately, a man who had a limited amount of English explained a little to us about what was going to happen.

All at once, the women dumped their products of rugs and material in front of them.  A team of men wearing high vis jackets inspected the products and offered them to the buyers who were waiting around the perimeter of the room.

Some of the ladies attempted to speak with me but of course it wasn’t possible due to the language barrier.  I would have loved to have spoken with them. Many questions ran through my mind.  How far had they travelled?  Were they Berbers? Did they come on a daily basis to the auction?  So, we resorted to smiling and nodding at each other, one or two of the ladies blew me kisses which I of course returned.

The small, darkened and rather horrible looking alleyway which led to our riad was dug up when we returned. A pile of rubble waited to be put into the trench.

When we left the riad again a couple of hours later, the trench had been filled with the rubble. Perhaps, the workers will add some concrete tomorrow.

At the end of the alley, a notice on a wall stated ‘Hospital of Psychiatry’ but it was difficult to ascertain if the place was still operating.  A notice opposite declared ‘Cemetery’ but we couldn’t see any sign of the burial ground.

Opposite Bab Mansour is a square named Place el-Hedim; this translates to ‘Demolition Square’.  Homes and other buildings were apparently demolished in order for the sultan to create gardens and a more regal pathway to the Kasbah.

The square, however, was used for various reasons including public hangings.  Today, the square is like a miniature Jemaa-el-Fna in Marrakech but without all the tourists!

Like its counterpart, it comes to life each evening.  People gather and chat, many eat, some shop at the market stalls.

A man with a snake coiled around his arm, hopes for cash in exchange for a photograph.  Another leads an ostrich around on a rope. One or two locals stop to have photographs taken. There are very few tourists.

A large horse and a small pony have ornate saddles and parents pay for their small children to have rides.

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of children were playing ‘hook a bottle’. The various bottles of soft drinks stood in a circle and the children ran off excitedly with their prize when they won.

This is a great place for people watching, plus it has a fabulous view of the Bab Mansour.

 

Beneath green tile roofed pavilions, women sat chatting, whilst watching their kids on a roundabout or racing around in battery operated cars.

In the market area, one can buy trainers, baseball caps, sweatshirts, watches or choose from a display of thousands of tagines.

 

Small mobile kiosks and carts are selling chickpeas wrapped in paper cones, snails, and sugar cane juice and candy floss.  There is a party atmosphere.

Choosing a place to eat, we ordered a couple of tagines and continued to watch life in the lively square.  Our waiter was dressed smartly in black trousers and white shirt with a black bow tie.

Our bill was quite a bit more than we were originally told. However, it was soon reduced when we queried it; you have to watch them, the cheeky chappies!

 

After dinner, we had a short wander before returning to our riad.  Our plan was to write a little, read and to open that bottle of wine!

 

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