And I even came out without a weird stomach ailment

Last weekend brought me on a whirlwind tour of Meknes, Moulay Idris, Voloubilis and Fes. This basically included getting up really early in the morning, driving 2 hours to Meknes—the capital for a short time in the 18^th century—where we exited the bus to take a picture of one gate, then another, touring an old granary, and visiting a shop. Moulay Idris, the capital during the first Arab dynasty (8^th century), was on the program as a destination, but really, we just stopped there to eat lunch. Next, we hit Voloubilis, a very extensive Roman ruin (there were mosaic tile floors still intact—so cool), before hitting Fes.

The Fes medina from above

Last week in the medina, I overheard someone saying that Morocco has four capitals—Rabat is the administrative; Casablanca is the economic, Marrakesh is the touristic, and Fes is the historical. And Fes certainly was historical. Containing the largest medina in Africa, with some streets too narrow for two people to walk side by side, I really did get an impression of being in the middle ages. I’ve felt that way

in Rabat, but in addition to vendors selling fruit, spices and fish out of crates on the ground, the Rabat medina has a plethora of motorbikes and cars rumbling though the wider (and sometimes the narrower) alleyways. Fes has donkeys.

We were warned extensively about thieves and swindlers of many sorts, but I actually felt safer in the Fes medina than I do in Rabat. We heard very few catcalls, and the people who did talk to us seemed more genuinely friendly (as opposed to trying to pick us up).

After my friend Megan bought some earrings, one shopkeeper invited us to stay for tea and showed us pictures of his family in the Sahara. In addition to his mother language, Amazighi (Berber) and Arabic, he has learned English, French, Spanish and Italian by working in his shop and listening and speaking to tourists.

After My friend Asil introduced me as Shakira, this man shook his hips and gave me a hug.