Monday, November 22, 2010

Snapshots from the Medina

The largest car free urban space in the world, over two hundred thousand people living in in a nine thousand street labyrinth. From the moment you step beyond one of the guardian gates of the Fez Medina you're senses are under constant assault it's an instant love or hate affair.

This a few foodies eye snapshots from within the walls.

A camel butchery. Easily identified by the head hanging on a butchers hook in the front of the shop. We never actually tried any camel while we were there ... Well none that we are aware of ;)

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Fresh goats cheese wrapped in palm fonds. As good as any goats cheese we have tried anywhere.

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Unbaked bread loaves being carried to a communal oven. With most houses not having a oven, families sent their daily bread to the community oven each morning to be baked.

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Freshest meat you can get. You just pick out the bird of your choice, go do a little other shopping for ten minutes, when you return a cleaned carcass is wrapped waiting and still warm.....

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Politest cat in the world sat like this patiently for the whole time. We watched, and every so often it was rewarded with a small morsel of off cut.

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One of the sense assaults. Around every corner spice shops with barrels of raw spices some ground to order others already ground and ready to go.

Ras el hanout waiting to be ground.

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An assortment of spices

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All spices weighed on old brass scales, and wrapped into little paper packets. My luggage was hand checked every time going through customs for the rest of our trip, with dozens of small packets full of powder showing up on the x rays.

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Baskets of live snails sat on many corners some ominously close to large steaming pots for a quick street snack.

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Huge bundles of fresh mint and chamomile just waiting to be made into tea.

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This is just a tiny glimpse of what there is to see within the Medina. There is more than you can ever hope to remember, photograph or see.

p.s. for us it was instant love.

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