Fez

I had booked a moroccan evening of food, drink, music and dance. It was expensive but it would show all of these cultural delights in a single setting. Our local guide, Kallam checked with the venue and there was space, but only three people from our group had booked. And to be clear, they only had three bookings for that night which were three of us It mid afternoon and I didn't want to be sitting at a table in a large hall as the only guests si we all cancelled as well.

Instead some of ate in the local hotel. As luck would have it there was an event being held and there was traditional music so although I missed out on the dancing, I got some traditional music to accompany my choice of traditional Moroccan dishes. Some of the musicians.

 Then next morning it was a walking tour of the medina or old walled city. We stopped off opposite one of the fourteen gates and went inside.

 It is a maze of narrow streets and alleys and very easy to get lost and lose your sense of direction.

 She of the doors were very ornate but many of the walls were just plastered of whitewashed with no embellishments.

 There were markets still in some of the wider streets but still only wide enough for a small cart and people.

 Some doors were more ornate than others.

 The other method of moving goods around the streets was by donkey.

 Though an open doorway, we caught glimpses of piles of wares ready for sale such as this thread store.

 An avocado stall in front of an ornate door.

 A detail of one of the porches.

 A couple of narrow street views.

 And of course no trip to Fez is complete without a visit to Africa's largest tannery within the city walls and an iconic sight.

 The skins are cleaned and dyed in open vats by hand in the open. We were given sprigs of mint as we entered to try to combat the smells.

 Everything is one by hand, the mixing, washing, transportation and dying.

 The pits are deep and people stand in the water to reach the skins.

 Some of the finished products.

 Some skins dyed yellow drying in the sun using the most expensive of all the natural dyes used...in this case saffron.

 Several views of the metal working area of the old city.

 A door off the metal working square.

 A general street scene.

 A few views of the restored tomb of the founder of the medina.

 And lastly a tour of a carpet warehouse to show off both wooden and silk carpets and some of the colourful and fantastic patterns, all made by hand and some of the carpets took two women three years to produce.