Keyboqrds qre tricky

Upon the advice of my friend, Claire, and the not-explicit advice of my guidebook, I blew off Casablanca, but where to go?  The distances in Morocco are enormous, but it has a very good network of trains and buses.  So I could get to anywhere but it might be late and dark, and that did not appeal.  So I chose Rabat, Moroccos capital (pardon the spelling and punctuation - Arabic keyboards are tricky - it took four of us to find the exclamation point!).  And I am glad I did because Rabat is very manageable, especially compared to Fes, my current location.

While in Rabat; I met Yassine, who has a shop selling Moroccan crafts.  We got to chatting while bargaining over a wallet; and ended up fast friends.  Yassine showed me how to open hidden key boxes (and let me feel I had done it on my own), served mint tea with shebba, invited me to eat with his fellow shop owners, and then he took me, in the pouring rain, to see two of Rabats finest monuments, the Tower of Hassan and the Mauseleum of Mohammed V.  And we got to talking about our lives and our countries.  It turns out I am shockingly old not to be married by Moroccan standards.  Yassine informs me that 28 is the age that even the female holdouts get hitched.  He is very concerned that I not take too long to settle down.  I taught him the phrase TBD, and upon parting, he reminded me that getting married should not be TBD.

This morning I took the train from Rabat to Fes, a 3 hour trip that cost 10 bucks.  Got to Fes and made my way to the Youth Hostel (it is allowed for all ages), but they had no room due to a Dutch party booking the whole place up.  So I decided to go for it and stay in a hotel in the medina.  Moroccan cities are typically divided into the medina and the ville nouvelle.  When the French maintained the Protectorate, the Resident General actually had a good idea - to maintain the original cities and their way of life and build the French part somewhat away from the medina.  The new town layout would be familiar to any of us - avenues, boulevards, streets with names posted - but the medina is what you envision when you think of Moroccon souks (markets), all alleyways and high walls.  Rabat was doable - Fes is frankly intimidating.  The manager of the hostel gave me good advice on how to direct my taxi:  Take me to Bab Boujloud, which is a gate in the old city walls (Bab means gate - but they are now more like cement arches).  The driver could not take me inside the walls anyway, but to request a certain place makes the driver likely to try to take you elsewhere.  I got to the gate and was instantly besieged with offers to go here, there, everywhere.  And when I did find the hotel I wanted, a young man stood in the doorway and informed they were all full.  Now, February is not the best time to visit Morocco (have I mentioned the rain?), and I did not think it likely that the two places I sought out would be booked.  So I questioned him, and he said, yes, all two rooms are full.  Amatuer!  Your lie can never be too specific.  This hotel was written up in my guidebook and noted as having 16 rooms.  So I shooed him away and went upstairs and got my room. 

Fes is actually divided into three parts: Fes el Bali (Fes the Old) where I am staying, Fes el Jedid (Fes the new, which is still pretty old - 15th century), and Fes Ville Nouvelle.  There is nothing to see in the new new town, and I hit up the el Jedid section today.  Which leaves Fes El Bali, which is incomprehensible from the little I have seen of it.  So I may have to spring for a guide for that.  I also plan to take a side trip to Moulay Yacoub, a town that is a 45 minute drive away and known for their hot springs and hammam.  It is not very touristy and it sounds like a place that locals like.  And after Fes, an early bus to Chefchaouen, which is in the north and closer to Tangier.

The Q and A are transposed on keyboards here, as are the M and the ?, and the W and Z.  Basically; QWERTY is AZERTY here, and I am beat down from it.  I cant find the apostrophe or the USB port, so that is my excuse for no pics.  I hope you are all very well - I will write more soon.