Doing Our Part to Help the Economy in Fes

We experienced several startling moments during our first day in Morocco. We awoke to the call to prayer from the loudspeaker of the nearby mosque. At 4:30AM!!!! Caren says it sounds like someone trying to milk the wrong sex cow.

Mohammed (yes, another Mohammed) cooked a fabulous breakfast for us and the other guests. From the roof terrace at Dar Seffarine, the first thing that struck me was the sea of satellite television dishes. It seems like every rooftop has a satellite dish, presumably all tuned to Al-Jazeera.

After breakfast, our guide for the day, Idriss, picked us up and we started a day long tour of Fes and its medina. Idriss was born in the medina so we trusted that he knew his way around the maze.

Guess what was one of our first stops---a carpet showroom. What trip to Morocco would be complete without at least one visit to a rug merchant. The salesmen are masters at their craft. IBM should have hired a bunch of these guys many years ago. They would have wound up crushing their sales quota and earning Golden Circle sales recognition.

After saying for weeks that there was "no f__king way we are going to buy a rug", Jordan wound up negotiating for TWO rugs. Hey, we couldn't decide between two rugs, they included "free" shipping (by DHL), and the price for the second rug was about half the price of the first rug. I guess these guys know the sales promotion of "Buy One, Get The Second at Half Price."

We kept telling ourselves it was worth it to have the experience (we laughed a lot during the negotiation). The sales process had all the earmarks of buying a car in the U.S. - they offer you a seat and mint tea, then they show you dozens of carpets and ask what you like (a lot of features and benefits selling), and then they narrow down your preferences and start negotiating price. After a while, the Finance Manager (i.e. Sales Manager) comes in to play "good guy" and inquire how you are doing. When we finally agree on a price, there's the usual handshake and hug, followed by the rapid appearance of the accounting clerk to process your credit card payment. Doesn't this sound like your local Honda or Toyota dealership? I was waiting for them to offer me an extended warranty and chrome wheels.

All kidding aside, Idriss was a marvelous guide. He took us all over the medina and the new city. We saw the tanneries, the food stalls, the street where furniture is built, jewelry shops, a ceramics factory, mosques (the outside only - non-Muslims not allowed inside), the King's palace (when he visits Fes), and all the historic sites. He even took us to "Chinese street" where all the cheap goods imported from China are sold - kinda like shopping at 99 Cent Stores here in the U.S. We felt compelled to teach Idriss the Yiddish word "Khazeray" (junk).

Along one street they build huge wedding chairs for use at Muslim weddings and on the next street over they sold (rented) wedding garments. Caren picked up a handful of business cards from the vendors to send to Erin.