Fez!

We hopped a train and took a little junket to Fez.

  

At least one donkey guy thought that was OK!

Jerry booked us a very reasonable riad inside the medina.  It looked quite a bit like this and came with a magnificent breakfast.  I think we've made some friends there and will be back!

What is the plural of fez?  Fezes?  Fuze?  Feeze?

Fez is Morocco's second largest city and was the first capital.  It has a long and colorful history.

Fez also boasts the world's largest medina and even edged out Istanbul in the bazaar "Miss Congeniality" category!

The medina is very very crowded, noisy and ALIVE!  The mosques are busy intersections as the devout flood in and out when signaled by the never-ending call to prayer.  You can get swept up in the mass and miss the "one" if you aren't careful. Morocco never fails to gift me interesting faces.  This experience, along most assuredly with China, has expanded my worldview.  I have a deep emotional attachment to the nameless beautiful faces.

I would want this woman on my team...

A child's anticipation of candy looks the same in any setting.

Fez also boasts the world's OLDEST university shown here.  Karueein University--founded in 859 A.D. by a woman, Fatima El-Fihriyya!!  Tuck that away in your Jeopardy brain!

The medina has several different artisanal neighborhoods--copper, fabric, wood, silver, and leather (which will be another post).

Now don't tell me someone isn't bathing their donkeys.  I wouldn't even put it past them to rub some oils in as well.  "Ooo, a little lower." And nary a smell.  Didn't see any manure either!

If my Bench Road Donkey Golden Years Nursing Home ever comes to pass, I'm hiring this guy as my foreman.  Skull and all.

Fez was a bases-loaded homerun.  

"Sunday, Sweet Sunday"

And if you can name the musical that title comes from, you are officially older than dirt!  (Flower Drum Song)

We met these gentlemen at church and brought them home for the day to "scrounge dine" and take a little walk around.  The blue guys are BYU Arabic professors on their way to Meknes to check out some things. The one in the middle is here as a U.S. graduate student to attend a solar conference in Fez.  Left blue is a Belnap--duh!

 It took three pictures and some goofy faces before I got this little friend to smile, but it was worth the wait.

Good-bye to our Sunday guests.  Please come again!

MISSING THE LITTLES...

In Other News...

The Tower of Hassan was a flurry of activity in preparation for the arrival of Pope Francois and King Mohammed on March 30th.

Here it is.  We live less than a block from it which I guess is the Moroccan equivalent of saying we can throw a ball from our backyard into the Taj Mahal backyard!

The historic signing of papers that will put our first two projects into motion!  We hope to make an appearance at the pre-school training sessions this month!

We like these partners so much.  We're starting to laugh together which is always a good sign.  Mr. Hmoudou is getting a group of 11 together for future English lessons from me, and Najat wants to learn to knit.

My on-going attempt to photograph every baby in Morocco.  I was only partially successful in China.

Imagine our delight when the wheelchair service missionaries came to visit and turned out to be such pleasant company!  Van and Marie Christensen from Idaho Falls.

Guests and family of Dr. Alaoui--a champion of LDS Charities

Marie striking Gabriel's funny bone

Selma and her son, Gabriel--

Dr. Alaoui is a "reformed/retired" renowned pediatrician, but now he is a true-blue organic farmer.  He just LOVES it and almost chokes up when he talks about his donkeys.  Here he and Van are probably talking fertilizer.

I'm starting to dig teatime!

Dr. Alaoui with Madame Bennani who is ALL kinds of interesting!  I hope our paths cross with her again. 

Scenes from the Souk--

And

Laundry!

The Kasbah just before sunset

Seamstresses whom we hope to befriend from a women's cooperative in Rabat

Add mass with the Pope, and it was really quite a magical week.