From Rabat we traveled to Fez via the Roman ruins of Volubilis, built in the 1st century BC. For me the ruins were not really that impressive, but they made a pleasant stop on our journey. The city of Fez was quite a highlight of Morocco and it's culture. The old city and medina were built at the beginning of the 9th century and used to be considered as the 3rd holy city of Islam. We stayed for a couple of days and toured the Sultans Palace, Jewish Quarter, Jewish Cemetery, main medina and the El Bali medina. For me the medinas were the real highlight, with the never ending maze of winding narrow streets and every little cubbyhole containing an "industrial unit". 
Despite the harsh Moroccan sun, much of the medina seemed almost dark due to the overhanging houses hiding the sky. The medinas seemed to be a complete onslaught to the senses, with the sights, the colors, the smell of spices, smoke from the charcoal fires, the squalor, the sound of the little workshops and children playing etc.
In Fez we visited a mosaic factory where we watched the men and children painstakingly arrange the minute tiles to build the colorful mosaics. We also toured a pottery and a huge tannery with colorful natural dye pits. The tannery looked as though it must have been the same for hundreds of years and really made us feel that we were looking back in time. It was fascinating to learn about all of the natural dyes that were being used, but after 10 minutes or so the pungent stench of the dye pits drove us away.
(to be continued)
