Fez

How to cook like a local on the streets of Morocco

In Morocco, it's one thing to eat on the street, but it's another thing entirely to cook on it. When a friend in the Fès medina said she wanted to teach me how to make tanjia, a slow-cooked stew, I was interested. When she told me to meet her at her favourite butcher, and that she'd bring a knife and chopping board, I was baffled.

Tanjia is workers’ food, a dish traditionally made by Moroccan men. Like a tajine, the name refers both to the meal itself and the earthenware container it’s made in – in this case a long-necked pot like a Greek amphora.

Paul Clammer

Lonely Planet Writer

Get lost in a Moroccan souq

Who knew shopping could be so enlightening? You can glimpse a maâlem’s mosaic techniques, learn Berber sunburn remedies from apothecaries and get the ceremonial mint-tea treatment in carpet shops. You can probably get that pillowcase made to match your sofa or a suit tailored to fit, and artisans will proudly show you how it’s done. Factor friendly banter into your shopping time for a warm reception and probably a better price – everything is negotiable in the souqs except obligatory pleasantries. Whether you buy or not, the shopkeeper will remember you tomorrow, and greet you with ‘Labes?’ (‘Happy?’) At these prices, who wouldn’t be?

You haven’t really been to Morocco until you’ve gotten lost in a Marrakesh souq (covered market). Slow down and look around: when rays of sunlight through the palm-frond roof illuminate a lute maker at work, you’ve found the Instrument-makers’ Souq (Souq Kimakhine), and if you glimpse sparks flying as old bicycle parts are re-fashioned into lanterns, Blacksmiths’ Souq (Souq Haddadine) has found you. Dyers’ Souq (Souq Sebbaghine) is the most picturesque, with skeins of freshly dyed saffron and vermillion wool hung to dry against Marrakshi pink walls and Saharan blue skies.

Alison Bing

Lonely Planet Writer

24 hours in Fès

Yes, it's almost criminal to think of spending just one day in this wonderful Moroccan town, but if that's all you've got to work with, we can help. Taken from the Fez Encounter guide, our authors have mapped out an itinerary that will squeeze every last sun-drenched drop out of a day in Fès.

Enter the medina through Bab Bou Jeloud and wander down Talaa Kebira, stopping to visit the Bou Inania Medersa. To get into the medina swing of things, stop for a caffeine fix on the terrace at Café Clock, located opposite the medersa. Continue down the slope, investigating the shops, souks and street stands along the way.

Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet Writer