Post #7 Oct 10 Fes Market and Cooking School

A leisurely breakfast.  This time some cats have gotten into the breakfast area and the staff spend part of their time trying to chase them away from climbing on the food tables.  The cats have figured out a way into this room…

Yesterday we learned that the King’s sister stays at this hotel, Riad Maison Bleue, when she comes to visit.  While it’s a nice hotel, the quality of service isn’t as great it is in other places we’ve stayed at.  Clearly we’re not royalty and my French is very weak, the two things that would add lots to a stay here. 

This morning we’re start with a walking tour into the Fes Medina.  Many of the stores sell similar items as other stores in the Medina—produce, spices and such—but there were other stores in this section that seemed to be different enough to catch my eye.  Here was a junk dealer shop.  Our guide said that if you dug around enough you might find some treasure worth significantly more than what you would pay for it.  I just liked the fact that the items in the shop were so tightly packed that the impression of the outside doors from having to force them closed could be seen in the items for sale. 

The junk dealer shop.  I’m sure if you had patience you could find Jimmy Hoffa in there.  

A lovely display of olives and other preserved foods.  

We stopped off at the Bou Inania complex, another theological college built in 1357.  It contains a madrasah (where learning and studying takes place), smaller rooms that functioned as classrooms and an upstairs 2nd floor where students lived.   The entrance doors are very large and ornate.  The interior courtyard walls are full of elaborate zellige tile work, intricate carved plaster walls and beautiful cedar lattice screens.  

Interior shot from a diagonal angle.

Interior shot from the rear of the courtyard.  The minaret (tower) from the mosque can be seen.  

More minaret detail showing its green tile.  

Carving on the plaster sections.  

The cedar lattice work. 

The massive main doors to the courtyard.   

This is the Mihrab, the niche in the wall that indicates the direction of Mecca, which Muslims face when praying.  The columns are onyx.

Some of the zellige beside the main door.  It’s very intricate and really impressive because I learned yesterday how these panels are put together.  

We stood outside on one side of the building to examine the Magana, a hydraulic clock.  The clock was built by a the astronomer abou l’Hassan Ali Tlemsani.  It was comprised of 12 metal bowls suspended underneath 12 windows   Every hour, a window would open and a ball would drop into one of the bowls to sound the time.  Unfortunately the clock has been broken for several decades.  Lack of people knowing how to fix it and documentation has hampered restoration efforts.  The clock’s mechanism was removed in 2004 for safekeeping but the knowledge to restore or reconstruct the clock hasn’t been found.  

Looking upwards at the remaining parts of the Magana.  Only the wooden supports holding the brass bowls and the 12 openings can be seen.  

A picture of how the clock structure used to look.  

We continued on through the Medina and Judith suggests stopping at a store full of sweet treats.  We see these treats in lots of places, and she has resisted until now.  These treats are especially popular after Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims, is over. A celebration occurs to celebrate the end and these treats are offered.  We try a couple of these treats, basically fried dough saturated with honey.  They’re not healthy but they do taste good.  

Interior of the treats store.  Not everything on display is a fried doughy thing saturated with honey, but the vast majority was.  

Close up on one of the treats.  They all have different shapes and names, but are basically deep fried doughy goodness.  This one is known as Chebakia.  

We went to see a bookseller who sold books from contemporary authors.  Judith was on the hunt for a good read and settled on one.  

We walk through the Medina and reach Bab Boujeloud, considered to be the ‘front door’ of the Fez Medina, although it only dates back to 1913 when the French built a new grand entrance.  The triple arched gate is tiled blue on the outside and green on the inside.  The original old gate is nearby but is closed off.  

View from inside the Medina.

View from outside the Medina.  The Blue Gate.

The next stop was my cooking class.  I had signed up for a Morocco cooking class at the Fez Cooking School as part of the tour.  It is located at Palais Amani Boutique Hotel and we took a short walk through the Medina to get there.  On our walk yesterday we went inside the Hotel to have a look at it.  Judith was planning to stay at our hotel as I took my course, but the bright courtyard of the Palais Amani changed her mind and she decided to read her book here.  

Interior courtyard of the Palais Amani Hotel.  

View of the courtyard from the upper deck where the cooking school is located.

It was a two hour cooking course and I learned how to make Zaalouk (a tomato and eggplant dish), Chicken Tanjine and Jawhara Dessert (crispy phyllo pastry layered with fruit and custard).  The chef and translator were great.  Judith was invited to join me for lunch so we both got to enjoy it and she didn’t get food poisoning from my creations.

The school uniform.  I get to wear a Fez hat.  The school has these cooking stations with two burners and concrete top.  They are fully portable each with a propane canister fuel source so they can be wheeled anywhere to set up difference class pods.  

The cooking area.  Spices in the little bowls include salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, paprika, ginger, and turmeric.  The mash in the middle is eggplants that has been grilled, peeled and finely chopped.

My Chef instructor and translator team.

The final products.   Admittedly it was delicious.  I’m going to expand my cooking when I get home.  I did end up with a certificate but I don’t think it will be good enough to get a position in a fine Moroccan restaurant.  

After the cooking school and lunch Judith ask if we could walk somewhere like a park so we ended up at Parc Jnane Sbil a Fes.  It’s a park that’s undergoing renovation, but was nice enough particularly since it wasn’t on the itinerary.  

We went back to the hotel and chilled for an hour or so before heading to a nearby restaurant.  ISHQ is a modern appointed restaurant serving Moroccan Fusion dishes.  It was great although the portions were really big.  I ordered Chicken Pastilla, a classic Moroccan dish.  Judith ordered soup because she wanted to save room for dessert.  She got hooked on the Jawhara desert we ate at lunch, and wanted to try it again.  It was great, but we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.  It’s a long drive tomorrow and an early 8:00 start.  

The ISHQ restaurant building.  We sat on the top floor to the rear of the cloth sales.

Chicken pastilla.  Traditional pastilla is cooked in phyllo and is make as a skillet pie.  It has layers of shredded chicken and caramelized onion mixture.  There is ground almonds and it’s topped with honey.   The sweet-savoury contrast is surprisingly good.  I’d order it again; heck, I might even make it.