Meandering Through Meknes

Meknes is a sleepy laid back version of Fez. Similar historical value, old city (medina), lots of souqs to wander through, some palaces, a large bustling city square...and very little hassle. We felt much more relaxed to wander at will, take a few more pictures and relax. Our hotel was a bit spooky though. A large, rambling building where we were on of the few guests. Much quieter than our nights in Fez, but to the point of being a little eerie. The up side was the pretty little courtyard of orange trees which our window opened up to.

Highlights of Meknes:
-old palace now housing a good collection of old carpets, jewellry and other artifacts

-Ismail's tomb(incredibly ornate) and loaded w/ Japanese tourists

-well intact city walls

-bustling city square complete w/ snake charmers and medicine men handing out potions to crowds of eager men

-quiet winding alleys through residential neighbourhoods walking past hushed older women in their colourful cloaks, and children playing tag

-a cafe with men and women(hard to find!) that afforded great views of the souqs below, cafe au lait and cups of homeade yogurt. FYI - most of the cafes are almost exclusively male dominated. In the rare case there are women they always sit inside at the back of the cafe. The men usually occupy the front patio drinking espresso or mint tea, and leisurely whitling the hours away inspecting the passers-by.

Noted in a park in Meknes: We see Gandolf everywhere - older looking men, wrinkles grooved in hardened skin, beards some long, some short, varying degrees of grey/white, but always in long cloaks with hoods - brown, yellow, white, green. We will try to take a picture of him soon...