Day 10: Sightseeing tour of Fes.

Today we start with a walking tour around Fes, including the Seven Gates of the Royal Palace (Dar el-Makhzen), representing the seven days of the week and the seven levels of the monarchy.
The square in front of the gates.
A close-up of one of the massive doors.
Walking through the street with the Jewish quarter on one side and the Muslim quarter on the other.
Driss showing us the black stuff on the right is the black soap used for scrubbing in the hamman. The green stuff on the left is dish soap. Both are bought by the kilogram.
Another ceremonial gate (they all run together after a while).
We make our way up to this lookout area over the medina.
More winding through narrow streets...
...to get to the medina.
Here we are in the textiles and dyers area.
A butcher shop with a variety of cuts available...
...including this camel hump for sale.
With all the cats in the city, we are surprised that only a half dozen have staked out the fish merchant.
More shops in the textile area.
Shops in the metalworking area.
We come to this area near the university called the Medersa Attarine.
It was used as student housing for the university at one time with bedchambers upstairs.
A close-up of some of the stucco work.
This work is almost all geometric patterns, with some occasional arabic verses from the Koran.
A wide shot to show how much stucco work and woodwork are here.
Back to the medina, and now to a carpet shop.
Many of these are made on consignment by the mountain folkto supplement their incomes.
Back to a store specializing in leather goods.
We walk up to a terrace overlooking the tanners.
They give us each a sprig of mint to hold near our noses because of the smell.
Stopping for lunch, Wade tries a pastilla, a savory pie topped with cinnamon. It is kind of an acquired taste.
Next we visit a tile and clay shop. The sign shows the apprenticeships that are available.
A worker lays out tile squares to harden in the sun.
Kimberly with some more tile squares.
Inside, a demonstration of turning various forms on the wheel.
These people are all hand-painting the tiles.
This guy is chipping pieces to fit a mosaic.
That night, we go out to a fancy meal at restaurant MB (Maison Blanche).
It's a very nice vibe inside.
Kimberly starts with an almost-too-rich gnocchi dish with truffle (top) and Wade starts with octopus with beet hummus.
The main course is a double-split of the duck leg confit on top and a duck breast (foreground).
The dessert courses: a little bit of everything.