ROUGH AND RAW IN FEZ THE MEDINA OF, MOROCCO

The medina of Fez was founded in the 9th century at around the same time that Islam arrived in Morocco and the imperial rule that would create the country began. It grew in the 12th and 13th centuries to about the size that it is today. Many of the buildings that loom over the small streets are from this period, renovated to keep up with modern usages but retaining the original character of this period.It’s one of the first things I see as I walk down the main street of the old medina here in the Moroccan city of Fez.

Well, I say ‘main street’ but just five minutes later I find another ‘main street’. By the end of the day, I’ve found half a dozen more. All of them have on display the same brutal reality of life – the only shop with sugarcoating is selling local candies.