Medina of Fez, Fes-Meknes, Morocco

4A Modern Ajala 5:00 PM Nov 13, 2021

Explore the Medina with Adil, leave your wallets at 'home'
Adil was a wonderful host to our group of two. We are Black women in our 30s from the USA. We had only 2.5 hours to tour the Medina before catching our flight to Marakech. Adil met us at our hotel and took us on a truncated tour of the Medina. We highlighted the key places we wanted to see and he took us to a couple of them. We visited the leather tannery at Chouara and then after spending money there, were escorted to a rug shop where we spent even more $. The rugs are handmade by Widows and since I recently lost my dad and my mom is a Widow, I was drawn to this. However, I’ve since read that the Widows may not enjoy the full benefits of the rug sales. At this point, I was eager to see more sites and stop spending money. He took us to another site, I don’t remember which but he said it was closed or we couldn’t enter given that we are not Muslims. After this, he escorted us to a fabric shop that made scarfs from cactus instead of silk worms. I am writing this review now that I am back Stateside. Let me tell you Adil was a great host. He bargained on our behalf at the rug shop and even connected us to an official guide for our time in Marakech. Even after we retuned to the States, he’s been very communicative and worked to ensure that the rugs we ordered arrived in tact. However. I didn’t give this tour 5 stars because I still don’t know much about Fes’ history and instead, spent a lot of $$$$$ in Fes. To be fair, Fes is known for its handicrafts and so it makes sense to purchase wonderful artisan items. However, in retrospect, I can’t shake the feeling that I likely overpaid for all my items. It’s a horrible feeling. Our tour ended up being more about shopping versus just seeing and experiencing the city. So, ladies, go - get your pictures and work with Adil - he truly is great! But insist on seeing sites and focus on those. Even when you visit shops, enjoy the demonstrations and then walk away and if you so want to contribute to the local economy - plan to bargain significantly.

4SamuelHarvey 5:00 PM Nov 12, 2022

Google Maps works fine
I've seen loads of reviews suggesting that hiring a local guide is a essential, and while I believe in contributing to the local economy, wandering around and getting lost (or slightly loosing your bearing) is also part of the journey in any Medina. We spent 2 days in the Medina (our Riad was located near a Bab) and not once we 'needed' a local guide for orientation purposes. Our Riad was very generous in providing information and a map with key attractions. Armed with said map our Google Maps, it went smoothly and we were able to visit everything we deemed worth it, including the smells of the tanneries without mint leaves...