Cooking School

Learn to cook traditional Moroccan food in the heart of the medina
with Clock Kitchen. Fez’s first dedicated cooking school.

Dance

Belly Dance with Saida. Private lessons by arrangement

Calligraphy

Discover the sacred art of calligraphy with master
Mohamed Charkaoui.

Fez Download

Let us introduce you to Moroccan culture, customs and language
with Khalid. In 1:30hrs you will wow your way round the souks.

Henna

Give your hands a fancy look with a beautiful henna tattoo.

Oud

Learn to play with master musician Mohamed Semlali. Oud provided.

Djemmbe

Wild Djemmbe rhythms with Yassine. Djemmbe provided.

Jam Session

Every Wednesday from 6pm to 8pm Jam @ the Clock with
Mohammed Jocker. All Musicians Welcome

Clock Football Club

Friday @ 5pm in Batha Sports Complex .Speak to café manager for  details. All welcome

If in Cafe Clock ask manager for details otherwise call/email using details below

Art Exhibitions

Selected Prints from Habibi A group of prints from the graphic novel.

Cinema

Monday @ 6pm Jannat Directed by Kunal Deshukh, Emraan Hashmi,
Esha Gupta and JManish Chaudhary.The movie is in Hindi with English
subtitles (free)

Thursday@ 6pm Million Dollar Baby Directed by Clint Eastwood
with  Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman.The movie is in
English with French subtitles. (free)

Concerts

Sunday Concert @ 6pm

Nomad Fusion music with djemmbe hajhouj & percussion (20dh)

GO MOROCCO: It’s the second biggest city in Morocco, and it is the country’s culinary capital. Armed with a cook book rather than a guide book, KEN DOHERTY explored the exotic sights, sounds and tastes of Fez.

The book never mentioned the hot tiles of the hammam that sizzled against your skin. Nor the friendly gentleman who, with a slight glint, offered his services in everything from the abrasive art of scrubbing and pulling your body till it felt like someone else’s, to the relative relief of dousing your already overheated skull with a bucket of scalding water.

It was a classic food book, as essential a mosaic to understanding the ancient city of Fez as Ulysses is to Dublin. Although the social customs of eating are explored in exhaustive depth, unsurprisingly it’s a bit thin on the etiquette and mores of sauna politics.

We were on our own, but with Traditional Moroccan Cooking leading us by the hand, at least we would eat well. As we coasted over the meticulously ordered patchwork of green fields, we could have been mistaken for thinking the aircraft was flying over the more lush and pastoral countryside of northern Europe. It was late spring and the oppressive heat had yet to scorch and cul nature’s less hardy elements. Although holiday anticipation might lead to suspension of any previously held critical faculties, there was no denying it was bloom time in Morocco and we were geared to fall under its spell. This was an Arab Spring of a different kind.

We booked a short stay in one the many traditional riads or dars, a traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden or courtyard, dotted throughout the city.

Since Fez – the oldest, continuously working medina in the Islamic world – was declared a Unesco world heritage site, there has been a scramble to restore mosques, fundouks (inns) and private homes in the city. Government grants have helped locals and foreigners spruce up the crumbling medieval centre. This quiet revolution in building and restoring has been taking place since the early 1980s.

Those tiring of the hedonism and intensity of Marrakesh are heading north to a metropolis that for centuries has been the spiritual, cultural and – of most importance for myself, partner and nine-month old daughter (although she doesn’t know it yet) – the culinary centre of Morocco.

Before low-cost airlines threatened to unravel the arcane soul of its dense and tangled streets, a recipe book, written more than 50 years ago, has done just that.

Traditional Moroccan Cooking: Recipes from Fes by Madame Guinaudeau sought to copperfasten the ancient city’s food heritage before it became corrupted by any outside influence, although she was a foreigner herself. In doing so, she revealed not only the mouth-watering secrets of an often impenetrable city, but also created a vivid document championing human endeavour and ambition. The city, its people and Fassi cuisine jump off the pages. It was the perfect companion.

A quick internet search tailored to our likes (food, authenticity, baby friendly, central) and up popped a gem. The boutique riad Le Jardin des Biehn was perfect for our stay. A vast overgrown and mosaic tiled Andalucian garden heady with the scent of citrus, roses and hibiscus was an ideal playground for our daughter, who was just learning that forward motion on all fours would make things happen far more speedily.

The riad was central in the medina, but not too far in, where the streets become so small and winding they don’t have names. Rumour had it that the staff were wonderful, and indeed they were. What we really signed up for though, was the riad’s own restaurant, Fes Cafe, a place that Madame Guinaudeau might recognise, but not frown upon its more contemporary flourishes. We ate crayfish bastilla, lamb chops and artichoke pizza on different nights.

Most meals were taken in the garden, which came alive after dark, with all manner of mysterious tweets and rustles, a symphony that was accompanied by the haunting and beautiful call to prayer, the sounds of which seemed to pirouette from one of the many hundreds of minarets and become one thrilling celestial reverberation.

The oldest part of the medina, where you will probably spend most of your time getting lost, is essentially made up of two main streets – Talaa Kebira and Talaa Sghira – that plough headlong down through the swarming souks to the university (the world’s oldest) and the main mosque.

At certain times of the day, there was such a swirl of people joining these streets from the thousands of others that if you stood still for an instant, the momentum and density of the crowd would carry you to your destination, feet hovering just above the ground. Most routes from here lead to the ancient tanneries, where even if you got lost, the smell (think rotten eggs) will tell you that you are heading in the right direction.

These dusty streets and alleyways were where Madame Guinaudeau would have spent her time observing life that has changed very little before or since. “There is constant cries of Balek, Balek; buying, selling, discussing; children pushing and crying; great jars of oil being carried home; donkeys stumbling along; proud distant students passed by hurrying craftsmen; mingled smells-spices, oil, jasmine and orange blossom, remains of stale vegetables and datura. Thick dust makes a hell of the hot, crowded street.” Her words could have been written yesterday.

Most of the food in the medina was served in tiny rooms facing the street, furnished with nothing more than formica or plastic tables and wobbly unmatched chairs. Lamb brochettes, tagines or steaming bowls of bessara (dried fava bean) soup were the order of the day. Don’t haggle over the price, it’s cheap. Mint tea is ubiquitous. Those with a sweet tooth will enjoy all manner of treats. Honey-drenched beignets, cinnamon and sugar-dusted briouats filled with sweet rice and the famous almond stuffed M’hanncha or snake. “Believe me that this is food for the gods”, Madame Guinaudeau wrote.

If cities are representative of human ambition, then Fez is the model city. It is an intoxicating mix of artisanship, intellectualism and spirituality. It is a sprawling antithesis to blandness and conformity.

We came armed with an eloquent cookbook to usurp an ancient cuisine. We left a little more knowledgeable about its rich gastronomic traditions and more enlightened about the intricacies, durability and energy of a living, breathing medieval city. We will be back.

FEZ: Where to . . .

STAY

Le Jardin des Biehn, Maison d’hôtes, 13, Akbat Sbaa, Douh, 30200, Fez Medina, 00-212-664647679, jardindesbiehn.com

EAT

Medina Cafe, 6 Derb Mernissi, Bab Boujloud, Fez Medina, 00-212-535-633430. Near one of the main gates into the medina, this small restaurant serves all the classics including bistilla (pigeon pie), kefte tagine with eggs, and couscous with vegetables. Eat on the roof terrace above the din of the city.

Cafe Clock, 7 Derb el Magana, Talaa Kbira, Fez Medina, 00-212-535-637855, cafeclock.com. Mike Richardson, former maitre d’ of the Wolseley and the Ivy, has given the medina an unconventional meeting point for expats and locals. Famous for its camel burgers.

Fez Et Gestes, 39 Arsat El Hamoumi, Fez, 00-212-535-638532, fes-et-gestes.ma, Romantic riad where seasonal salads and tagines are served in a candlelit courtyard.

GETTING THERE

There are no direct scheduled flights from Dublin to Fez. You can fly with Aer Lingus or Ryanair into one of Barcelona’s three airports from Dublin or Cork. You can then take a connecting flight with Ryanair from Girona to Fez. Ryanair also offers flights from London Stansted to Fez.

The Irish Times

Picture credit: KEN DOHERTY

As the number of our website posts continues to grow, we have decided to consolidate all of them in one easy to browse location. This list is constantly being updated.

Clock Events

Graphic Novels at the Clock

1st Clock Cup!

A Clock Christmas

Staff Retreat – Mountains and Monkeys

Footprint of Friends all over the world – by Omar Chennafi and Robert Harrisson

Peace Corps Concert at Cafe Clock

Dazed & Confused by Mhamed Mrani Alaoui

Trip Films at Cafe Clock

Dhikr Photography Series

Showcase of Traditional Music Talent at the Clock

Clock’s Famous Friends

Jenny in Morocco!

Born to Explore – At Cafe Clock

Royal Visit

Famed “Living Food” Chef Visits The Clock

Film Crew Visits Fes

The Guardian and the Camel

Heston’s Fantastical Feasts in Fes

TIME Magazine Picks Cafe Clock

The Clock Book

Flipping Camel Burgers Under the Clock

Clock Book now on Amazon

Tara Stevens discusses her new Clock Book

Café Clock Book Launch a Huge Success!

Clock Cookbook Launch This Saturday!

The Clock Cookbook is Coming Soon!

Tara Stevens, Food Anthropologist

Clock Book Recipes

Three types of preserved lemons

Behla (Sesame Shortcake)

Coconut Ghriyba (Moroccan Macaroons)

Harira with shubkiya (sesame and honeyknots), dates and khobz

Chocolate brownies with cardamom and crystallized rose petals

Date and orange cheesecake

Pomegranate meringues

Pomegranate, beetroot and red onion salad

Rocket, orange and caper salad

Sumac salad

Olive and orange salad

Fassi “Waldorf” with honey yogurt dressing

Ginger, pistachio and carrot salad 

Zaalouk (aubergine salad)

Shlada del Barba (beetroot salad)

Chilled broadbean and pea soup 

Roasted garlic soup 

Fennel seed khobz with grilled vegetables, goat’s cheese & fig & date chutney

Chickpea, preserved lemon and coriander burger

Spiced fried chicken sandwich with red pepper almond salsa

Lamb beldi burger

Camel burger

Koolshi kedgeree

Scrambled Eggs with Desert Truffles

Clock-a-Doodle Doo – a Breakfast of Champions

Breakfast B’Sarra

Khlee Baked Eggs

Moroccan Tortilla

CHERRY GAZPACHO – a perfect summer soup

Moroccan Bread (Khobz) Recipes

Pictures of the Clock 

Clock Events Gallery

Clock Kitchen Gallery

Cafe Clock Gallery

Clock Activities

Jamming with Joker

Bread Baking at Cafe Clock

Henna at Cafe Clock

Clock Cinema

Oud Workshop

Fez Download – A Crash Course on Moroccan Culture

Cooking School

Cooking School Menu

Belly Dance Classes

Issawa at the Clock

Mohammed Charkaoui, Islamic Calligrapher

Sunday Night Concert Review

The Power of Henna

Wednesday Nights at The Clock

Funky Medina Music and Dancing Waiters??

Clock Workshops

Art and Culture

A Moroccan Inspiration

New Art for a New Embassy

A Moroccan Movie Poised to Be Nominated by the Academy Awards

Morocco’s Cinema for the Blind

Moroccan Festivals and Events

Churchill and El Glaoui – Together again

Henna – a new take on an ancient art

13th National Film Festival of Tangier Kicks off

Arab Film Festival in Brussels

Pop Up Art Shop Fez medina, December 2011

Fez Book Club

ALC-ALIF Photography Club Photo Projection & Discussion

Marrakech International Film Festival 2011

Free Concert in Fez

Festival of Spiritual Films

Tahar Ben Jelloun on Casablanca

Dance Festival in Fez

Morocco to take part in international Euro Arab Film Festival in Spain

FEZ UP by Sebastian Lapostol

Moussem in Moulay Idriss – 7th, 14th and 21st July

Marrakech Folk Arts Festival to kick off June 29

Essaouira Gnaoua and World Music Festival

Marrakech to host its first International Humour Festival in June

Ben Harper and the Fez Sacred Music Festival

The 10th edition of FESTIVAL MAWAZINE Rythms of the World from the 20th to 28th of May 2011

International symposium in New York celebrates ’2000 years of Jewish life in Morocco’

Soiré De Gala

Tanger Trance Reading

The 5th edition of the Fez Festival of Sufi Culture

Party on with Fez Sensation

Moroccan Artisan Fair

Fez to host Morocco’s first flamenco festival

Hammam Exhibition

Table for 76, Please!

Moroccan Bling

Poetry Connections Morocco

Beirut 39

Online Fes TV Channel Launches Tomorrow

Mamionides in Fez

Carnet de Voyage

What’s On In Fez?

Urban Fabric Comes to Fes

Cafe Clock CD

The Winners of the Photography Competition

New York Times Highlights Cultural & Historical Diversity of Morocco

International Dance Festival

Still Lifes and More

“Life Size” Opens Wednesday!

Nayda : Morocco’s Musical Revolution

Seventh ‘Jazz in Riads’ Fez Festival

Moussem in Moulay Idriss

Travel by your Heart – Priyanka Singh

Marriage in Morocco – By Omar Errouch

Bou Inania Madrasa

Wisdom Play Workshops

Spiritual Moments

Friends of English

SHOUT OUT!!

Mystic Magic Performance!

In Situ Sufi Dervish Sketches

Sufism

Rumi on Spring

Fes Education Forum

The Water Clock

Renowned Belly Dancer Visits Fes

The Next Stage – Zanouba & Adil

Spotlight on Zanouba

Rabat Bound

Fes Has Got Talent!

Shout out for Writers for Cafe Clock Online

Morocco News

Morocco Improving Schools

New Government Meets

Mawlid Tomorrow!

Culture and Youth in Morocco

Morocco’s New Tourism Minister

Ashura

Moroccan Elections On Friday

November 6th – Celebrating The Green March in Morocco

Eid Al Adha in Morocco

Morocco’s constitution stresses importance of human rights and cultural diversity, UN expert

Science museum to be set up in Fez

Lailat al Qadr – Night of Power

Moroccan stand at KC Ethnic Enrichment Festival presents richness, authenticity, tradition

Prayer Schedule of Fes Medina During Ramadan

Ramadan Mubarak Said

Moussem in Moulay Idriss – 7th, 14th and 21st July

MOROCCO -ALGERIA BORDERS TO OPEN ON JUNE 2

Royal Visit

Eid Al Mawlid

Independence Day

Fatih Muharram – Happy New Year!

Eid Mubarak Everyone

Happy Birthday Your Majesty

Rabat Ville Station opens!!

Sports

Morocco’s Maghreb lift African Super Cup

Cycling for Charity

Olympics in Morocco?

1st Clock Cup!

25th Tour of Morocco

2012 Africa Cup of Nations

African Cup – Ask the computer?

Cup of African Nations

Run Abdelghrani, Run!

 Celebrities

Saif Visits Morocco!

Fashionable Morocco

Miss Morocco 2012

Rapping in the Desert

Jennifer Lopez opens Morocco Mall, Casablanca

My message is “Salam”, Yusuf Islam says

Kareena Kapoor loves Morocco

 Moroccan Economy

Moroccan Cooking

Moroccan Cooking – Spreading to Fiji

Moroccan Tea – World’s Best?

Clock Kitchen – Another Report

Bread Baking at Cafe Clock

New Menu Items at Cafe Clock

Tagine or Not Tagine

Clock Blogged!!

Fasting – A personal Story

Tasty Tanjia for Two

Couscous Workshop

Good Causes

Matt’s Moroccan Ride

Cycling for Charity

Hitchhiking to Morocco

Diva’s Dinner Sunday, March 6th

Cafe Clock’s delicious milkshakes have long been loved by locals and travelers alike, and now we are making them even better. Abdelrazak, our master pastry inventor/chef has made ice cream from scratch, and it is being added to our milkshakes. So please join us for this wonderful new treat!

Unfortunately, dduk are not easy to get outside of Morocco, but if you’re in the US you might try using key limes. Otherwise the following will work well with any kind of lemon, providing it is unwaxed.

Traditional

• 4 lemons
• lemon juice of 2–3 lemons
• enough sea salt flakes to cover
• water

Spiced

• 4 lemons
• lemon juice of 2–3 lemons
• enough sea salt flakes to cover
• 2 tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 5 whole dried chillies
• 8 cardamom pods
• water

Candied

• 4 lemons
• 750 g sugar
• ¾ litre water

Traditional preserved lemons

1. Top and tail the lemons and cut into quarters without going right down to the bottom
2. Stuff the crosses with sea salt flakes
3. Squash down into a 1 litre glass jar with a rubber seal, top up so that the lemons are just covered with fresh lemon juice and water
4. Seal and store in a cool, dark place. They should be ready in about three weeks

Spiced lemons

1. Top and tail the lemons and cut into quarters without going right down to the bottom
2. Stuff the crosses with sea salt flakes and the spices (you can add anything you like except garlic which will overpower the fruit)
3. Pack the lemons into a 1 litre glass jar with a rubber seal, top up so that the lemons are just covered with fresh lemon juice and water
4. Seal and store in a cool, dark place. Tip gently every couple of days to distribute the spices. They should be ready in about three weeks

Candied lemons

These lemons are Jewish in origin and aren’t generally something you see in the preserves stalls of the medina, although you might seem them in the Mellah.

1. Place whole lemons in a pan of water and bring to the boil, simmer for 3 minutes and leave to cool in the water, then cut into quarters without going all the way through
2. Boil the sugar and 1/3 litre water for 15 minutes, add the lemons and cook for 30 minutes on a gentle simmer until the skin is tender
3. Place the lemons in a sterilised glass jar, but continue cooking the syrup for a further 20 minutes on a very low heat
4. Cover the lemons with the sugar syrup and leave for 10 days before using

Choose from these delectable options:



Glaoui Palace

“Some cities are open books waiting to be discovered, but the ancient medina jealously stows away its charms”

Fez. You might love it or hate it, but indifference is unlikely. You’ve never seen a place like Fez. Think of the medina as one huge treasure-hunt, a life-size labyrinth to lose yourself in, and don’t venture in without a ball of string.
Few places are so difficult to understand and yet able to get under your skin like Fez; Morocco’s second largest city, one of the country’s four ‘Imperial’ cities and most famously a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some cities are open books waiting to be discovered, but the ancient medina, ‘Fes el-Bali,’ is over 1,200 years old, and jealously stows away its charms, yielding nothing easily to the perplexed traveller.

For the discerning Perseus, we’ve put together a short list of places worth seeking out which may not be on everyone’s ‘to do’ list for Fez.

The Glaoui Palace
The palace is located in the Ziat quarter of Fez, a slightly more upscale and residential area of the medina. Particularly for anyone who has read Gavin Maxwell’s ‘The Lords of the Atlas’, or has any intention of seeing the tiny village of Telouet far down south in the High Atlas, look for this tremendous monument which is a testimony to power fallen into decay. A soft-spoken guardian and self-taught painter named Abdou looks after this crumbling treasure. The once-palatial building is as much a testament to the power the Glaoui clan weilded during French-colonial Morocco, as a mere backdrop to the guardian’s artistic endeavours, which you can see when you visit. If decay can be considered an art form, this is it in a nutshell.

Achabine
This is a quarter of Fez where you’re pretty unlikely to see another foreign face among the sea of hijabed women who ply the daily fruit and vegetable market. Visit the numerous food stalls, many with capacity for little more than four or five people, lined in a row. This is the off-the-beaten-path place to come for beef or chicken brochettes (skewers), fish fried in charmoula (a cumin-based marinade), any number of cooked salads or a cheap and filling bowl of bessara, a fava bean, cumin and garlic stew drenched with olive oil. If you’re looking for a great, authentic street food experience, this is it. One of the noteworthy monuments in the area is the tucked-away minaret of the Ain el-Khail mosque, unique in that it is the only octagonal minaret in the medina. Ain el Khail was the mosque where the moorish mystic and sufi Ibn Arabi prayed during his 12th centruy sojourn in Fez.

Maimonides’ House
The illuminator of the Torah and one of the most brilliant physicians of the Middle Ages, Moses Ben-Maimon spent time in this house in Fez, opposite the Bou-Inania Medresa, between his birth in Cordoba, Spain and his death in Egypt. Look for the house tucked away down the small alley (derb Megana) that also houses the popular Café Clock, a hip coffee house/resto. One day the city may organise a more formal display dedicated to Maimonides and his contributions, but for now it makes for an interesting pause after seeing the nearby Bou Inania medrasa.

Cherratine Medrasa
This little known Koranic school, on the Ras Cherratine which connects the Moulay Idriss shrine with the R’Cif area, was built in 1670 by the founder of the Alaouite dynasty Moulay Rachid (Morocco’s current king, Mohammed VI, is the latest descendant of this line). Recently restored in the last few years, the medrasa is unique in it’s layout and functionality. Look for it’s brilliantly sculpted bronze doors as you walk up or down the Ras Cherratine.

Andalous Quarter
So named as it sheltered refugees fleeing their Umayyad dynasty masters in Cordoba after a revolt there in the 9th century. Crossing over the Oued Fez into the Andalous quarter is stepping into an area of the medina that sees few tourists, yet steeped with the history of its inhabitants who brought vestiges of muslim Spain with them. Aside from the Andalous mosque, the second largest in the medina, one can visit the Sahrij Medrasa, dating from 1321, one of the oldest in the city and with the singularity of being one of the last remaining ancient madrasas that still has students living and studying in it, despite its fall into decrepitude.

No visit to Fez would be complete without taking full advantage of the ancient city both day and night. In the last ten years or so the medina of Fez has undergone a sort of rennaisance, with great interest taken in some of the more opulent homes that represent the very zenith of the islamic aesthetic. Many Moroccans as well as foreigners have purchased some extraordinary palatial homes and have turned them into luxury guesthouses, where for reasonable prices one can live like a pasha among orientalist opulence. Carved cedar doors, intricate mosaic tiled floors and walls, and sumptuous furnishings designed and hand made by the very artisans that continue to work daily in the medina’s endless number of tiny workshops, the Dars and Riads (courtyard houses) of Fez offer a glimpse of what aristocratic life was like when Fez provided the cultural and artistic elite of the country. Nothing completes a day in the hectic medina than to come back to the luxury and tranquility of a moorish patio.

Sebastian Lapostol is an independant tour and travel guide. If you’re on the hunt for diamonds in the medina’s rough, get in touch by email or phone (+1 416 628 1272).

This article was first published on www.trufflepig.com

The Essaouira Gnaoua and World Music Festival celebrates the music of the Gnaouas, the product of a mystic tradition with branches as widespread as Haitian Voodoo and Brazilian Candomblé. Performers include the best local and international musicians of the genre.

A picturesque port painted in blue and white, Essaouira is a travellers’ favourite and the perfect destination for a festival devoted to the feats of the Gnaouas, best known for their tasselled hats, which spin wildly as the musicians rock.

Originating through a cross-pollination of African magic and Islamic rituals, the Gnaoua brotherhoods form a structured unit around a master. He leads the music and dancing until the participants are in a trance induced by the mesmeric rhythms of the drums, the guenbri (a form of lute) and the hand-held garagab (metal castanets). During religious ceremonies, Gnaouas have been known to impale themselves on swords or beat their heads with iron balls without sustaining visible external injury.

Faint-hearted visitors have nothing to fear, the Essaouira Festival does not feature such extreme performances: the programme focuses on the purely musical elements of Gnaoua tradition and its influence on African-inspired musicians.

Related Information

Website: Essaouira Gnaoua and World Music Festival Website

The Royal Palace, Alaouites Square - © Claire Bobbyer/Time Out

Sunday supplement and glossy magazine features on Fès usually go overboard on the majesty and mystery of this ancient city. With fulsome superlatives, they bang on about its spectacular architecture, intriguing shopping and tasty food, and how Morocco’s one-time imperial capital (the French relocated it to Rabat in 1912) is an assault on the senses and is the real heart of the country.

All these things are true. But get past the Unesco heritage stuff and you’ll discover that its heart lies not in bricks and mortar, doorways and courtyards, but in the minutiae; in places like my favourite – an unassuming tea house in the heart of the labyrinthine Medina. There’s no name or sign: it’s up a staircase opposite the crumbling, eighteenth-century fondouk of Sagha, where out-of-town merchants used to overnight and store their wares.

The tea house is tiny and the smell of fresh mint intoxicating. The friendly owner is always busy: lining up glasses, filling them with mint, adding strong tea and topping it up with hot water from a copper urn. If you want sugar – and all Moroccans do – it’s chiselled from huge rocks. Apart from a TV on the wall, little can have changed for a hundred years. Craftsmen, workers and traders come here when they finish work to relax and chat. It’s like the grungy, gorgeous bars you used to find in Barcelona or Granada 20 years ago (although there’s no alcohol here), before they were modernised or turned into retro chic. There’s no artifice or design: it’s just gloriously traditional, and a relaxing refuge in a city that can be bewildering at first.

Shopping

Fès is the best-preserved medieval city in the Arab world: an exotic fantasy just a few hours’ flight from London. The newer Ville Nouvelle houses most of the hotels, but the old town, Fès el-Bali, is the real draw, with Unesco World Heritage status.

The Medina is a maze of streets – or, more accurately, alleys. Even the biggest is too narrow for cars, so everything is taken in and out on foot or by donkey. The 9,400 alleys bend this way and that, up and down, and it takes a while to find your way. Most books warn against going without a guide for fear of getting lost. In reality, the Medina slopes down to what’s left of a river in the centre, and most lanes lead to the Kairaouine mosque and the Kissaria market beside it, so navigating isn’t so hard.

But, for newbies, a guide can give you a good sense of the place. They can be arranged at a reasonable price through your hotel or the tourist office, and are best not picked up lurking at the entrance to the Medina unless you want to be dragged into shops in which you have no interest. With IDed official guides, you tell them your interests – carpets, pots, slippers or dried lizard to aid potency – and they’ll take you there, though there’s no guarantee you won’t be pressured to visit some of the other 80,000 shops. Thematic circuits have been charted across the Medina and marked with coloured signs that are fairly easy to follow, such as green (palaces and gardens), dark blue (monuments and souks) and red (traditional crafts).

There’s nowhere like the Medina to see traditional crafts in action. Carpentry and wood-carving are to be found near Bab Guissa and around the fondouk Nejjarine; skin and drum workshops in fondouk Tazi on Talaa Kabira; and metal and brass at Place Seffarine.

Great food and snacks are at the top end of Talaa Kabira and around the bridge over the trickle of river at Tarrafine, close to Place R’cif.

Most famous are the tanneries – well worth a bit of hassle and a tip or two. The biggest are the Chouwara tanneries: a honeycomb of vats with concoctions of different colours, in which skins are soaked as part of the leather-making process. It’s back-breaking, nauseous work – apart from the overpowering smell of the curing skins, pigeon shit is an active ingredient. You can watch from the nasal safety of a nearby rooftop, but it’s best to take a deep breath and get a guide to take you for a closer look – after which you’ll appreciate the fragrant pleasure of a mint tea.

Architecture

Fes’s most important architectural buildings are, tantalisingly, the religious ones at its heart, hidden from non-Muslim eyes. The Kairaouine mosque – founded in 857 and an exquisite complex with a beautifully tiled courtyard and green roof – set the pattern for Moroccan mosques. Non-Muslims aren’t allowed inside, but you get a decent view of the courtyard from a narrow lane on its northern side. The shrine and tomb of Moulay Idriss II, who made the city his capital, is also off-limits to non-Muslims, but visible from the streets of a clothes market that surrounds it. The architectural masterpieces that are accessible to non-Muslims are the fourteenth-century Merinid medersas (religious schools).

The Bou Inania, by the food stalls on Talaa Kabira, the Attarin, next to the Kairaouine mosque, and the Sahrija, in the Andalucian quarter, with a restful pool in its courtyard, are notable for their zellij (tilework) and wood-carving.

Restaurants

Food in Fès is a treat. Most of the riads in the Medina serve great meals – tagines are a speciality. There are many eating places, aimed at local people, with typical Moroccan food around Bab Boujeloud. The food at Le Kasbah (+212 535 74 15 33), close to the Bab Boujeloud gate, is pretty standard, but the terrace is glorious. Only upmarket places catering for tourists sell alcohol.

A good option is the beautiful, if slightly formal, Dar Saada (21 Souk Attarine, +212 535 63 73 70) in the centre of the Medina.

Music

The best time to visit Fès is during its Festival of World Sacred Music in June (this year June 3-12). Running since 1994, it builds on the city’s history as a spiritual centre and was established to counteract polarisation between the West and the Muslim world. The idea is simple: to perform music from any creed or faith, to try to break down barriers.

Although the music is notionally spiritual, the definition is refreshingly broad, ranging in 2011 from European baroque to Senegal’s Youssou N’Dour and from Indian dhrupad singers to American star Ben Harper.

Audiences return year after year from across Europe and the US. The headline concerts take place in front of Bab Makina, a spectacular, keyhole-shaped gate in the city walls. Intimate afternoon shows are held in the shade of an ancient oak in the beautiful tiled garden of the Batha Museum. An innovation last year saw small shows in houses, palaces and gardens in
the Medina, with punters finding their way from one to the other. Wandering these alleys in the warm evening to hear exquisite music is an unforgettable experience.

Inside knowledge

Ros Sales, editor of Time Out’s ‘Morocco: Perfect Places to Stay, Eat & Explore’, chooses her absolute favourite spots in Fès.

Eat

Café Clock

Established by Mike Richardson, a former maître d’ at The Ivy, this warm and inviting venue serves bold, eclectic food with influences from Morocco and beyond. And now you can try some recipes yourself with its first cookbook: ‘Clock Book’, by Tara Stevens.

7 derb El-Magana, Talaa Kebira (+212 535 63 78 55, www.cafeclock.com). 9am-10.30pm daily.

Drink

Fès et Gestes

A traditional medina house with a leafy courtyard garden, which makes a beautiful retreat from the scrum of the city. It’s also a lovely spot for a mint tea, coffee or fresh juice (no alcohol).

39 Arsat El Hamoumi (+212 535 63 85 32, www.fes-et-gestes.ma). noon-9.30pm Mon, Tue, Thur-Sun.

Stay

Dar Seffarine

Owners Alaa from Iraq and Kate from Norway, have achieved something different through a combination of painstaking, authentic restoration with judicious – and stylish – use of salvaged objects. Beautiful.

14 derb Sbaa Louyate, Seffarine (+212 671 11 35 28,www.darseffarine.com).

See

The Medersa Bou Inania

Fès’s largest and finest medieval medersa (madrasa), is covered in decoration: zellij (mosaic tiling), mashrabeya (carved wood) screens, fine horseshoe arches and intricate stucco work.

Talaa Kebira. 8am-5pm daily. Entry 10 dirham (around 80p).

Listen

‘Experience Morocco’

This 2008 Nascente double album hops between old and new scenes, sampling Gnawa, Sufi and Berber plus contemporary rai, reggae, hip hop and Moroccan rock.

Read

Paul Bowles’s ‘The Spider’s House’

A richly descriptive novel set in Fès during the 1954 nationalist uprising.

Fast facts

Getting there

Iberia, Royal Air Moroc, Flybe, British Airways and Ryanair all fly direct to Fez Sais airport from various major UK airports. Return flights start from around £150 depending upon the time of year.

Hotels

The most atmospheric places are the riads in the Medina. Dar Roumana(double from €85) is a lovingly restored one on the outer edge of the Medina, where breakfast can be taken on the roof terrace. Riad Mabrouka(double from €77) is elegant, friendly and serves great food.
Visit Fez Riads for more general info.

Further information

Visit Morocco has lots of information about Fès.
A longtime blog is The View from Fez (riadzany.blogspot.com).

Safety and security

Following the bomb explosion in Marrakech on April 28 2011, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office says ‘travellers should take sensible precautions for their personal safety and avoid public gatherings and demonstrations’, but does not advise against travel to Morocco.

By Simon Broughton, Songlines magazine editor

The Floor

When you come to Café Clock, you have a variety of seating options. Depending on your mood, you can always find a place to match it. What’s your preference … cushions, a low stool? Maybe a small sofa — or perhaps a straight back chair? There’s even a throne or two! Take your pick.

Feeling a bit voyeuristic? Sit on The Floor and you can watch the world go by and in the early morning hours you can watch the kitchen set up for the day. Sooner or later Ismail will come in, toting large bags of fresh fruits and vegetables. Souad will survey the kitchen contents and place orders for chicken, lamb and camel. Cooking school participants arrive and get ready for a day of shopping, baking, cooking and eating. Suppliers and workers come and go as The Clock is always adding some new feature and making improvements. Tourists, locals, expats and students wind their way into the café and settle in to eat, chat, surf the net, inquire about cultural events or make new acquaintances.

The Balcony

Climb the stairs to The Balcony if you’re looking for a bright, airy space where you can peer down at the activities below or lose yourself in thought as the mobile of instruments suspended from the halqa slowly spins before your eyes. Peer into the sky above.

If you’re part of a large group, there’s alwaysThe Red Room with long tables to accommodate a party of twenty.

The redroom

There’s The Library for more intimate gatherings or quiet study — and off to one side is The Mansoura Room; another cozy corner for thosewho enjoy their privacy.

The Terrace

Looking for views and a bit of fresh air? There’s the incredible Garden Terrace with enclaves of seating and great vistas of the medina. The climb up the stairs is well worth the effort. Once you emerge onto the sun-filled terrace one of the most magnificent minarets in the medina stands right before you. And should Muslims wish to answer the call to prayer, there is the beautiful designated Prayer Room just below the terrace.

Climb to the topmost point onto The Eyrie and imgine you are atop a camel, traveling through space and time. The Garden Terrace is both intimate and expansive.

Mansoura Room

So whatever your mood, Café Clock has a spot waiting for you. Sit, lounge, work, sing, study, eat, drink, recoup, visit, do business and enjoy.

Your table awaits…