Fes

The first thing that struck me about Fes is how old the city is. There is a strong sense of tradition here and a historic way of life that never really changes. I love walking through the Medina! There is no knowing what you might find through the small doorways and alleys. My, sometimes, short attention span feeds of this environment however, the Medina was not made for the clumsy, I have had a few knocks and close calls with donkeys. Full spatial awareness is key to survival in the narrow streets as you never know when you will suddenly be faced with a motorbike or some form of large animal. 

In the artisan district, there are many little pockets of the Medina where you will find small shops with a traditional loom tucked up in the corner. Here shop workers hand weave fabric for scarf's and throws which are then displayed in meticulously folded columns of colour and texture. The artisans behind the loom expect to finish around 2 metres per day which is more or less the equivalent of 2 scarf's. I wanted to commission someone to create me a piece for my collection however I would have to change so much of the fabric that I had already purchased, looks like it will just be a scarf for me. 

One of the purposes of our trip to Fes was to find an artisan who could produce some metal work for the collection. There were so many skilled craftsman to work with however I found mine by chance. In a small dress shop we met a woman who sews clothing for a living. On her shelves I found a variety of belts made of gold metal that were produced in a workshop in the market. I had to get one made to size so her son led us through the market and up to a workshop on the roof of a house. Here the artisan said that he would make my belt to size and also took on my order of 120 charms to be made for the collection. We made a deal that her would charge me a fair price if I told people in the UK that not all Moroccans want to overcharge Europeans for their trade, so this is me keeping my end of the deal.

After placing my order with the artisan, my next task was to find leather. Where better to start then the Tanneries. There is no way of seeing the area until you are literally over the top of it on a balcony where shop owners utilise the space to sell all manner of leather goods at high prices to tourists. The smell is very overpowering at first, I'm pretty sure my face pulled some unattractive expressions while I was getting used to it. The work that the men were doing below looked hard, especially on the body. Without any protective clothing there were some unnaturally coloured limbs moving around in the area.