Fez carpets, fabric, synagogues and a red light district

Today we had an unstructured day in fez.  We went back to the carpet shop to finish up some business from yesterday.  (Great theater, watching these guys sell...) from there we headed to a fabric co-op with a dizzying array of beautiful shawls, bed covers, table covers etc.  whew, enough shopping!

We then visited the two synagogues in fez before heading off to Sefrou, a suburb of fez that once contained a very large Jewish community.  (They are all gone now.). We visited the cemetery, still in good repair, and the site of the old synagogue that is now a pile of rubble in the middle of the red light district.  I think even our unflappable guide was a little on edge.  Dodgy neighborhood is an understatement!

We also visited a pretty well preserved synagogue in the middle of a school. 

It seems that many, if not most of the Jews left morocco for Israel, Europe and the U.S. around the time of independence.  Not so much because life was horrible, but due to uncertainty.  Abdul leads many tours for Israelis who come back looking for their roots and claims that they regret having left.  

Much more commentary on this if you want to chat.  It is a complicated thing to be sure!  Suffice it to say that it is probably worse to be a Jew today in morocco than "the party line" and better than most people imagine.  At least the Moroccans have accepted the Jews as an important part of their history and are preserving some of the historic buildings associated with that past instead of obliterating all signs.   Enough teaching!  Here are some pics:

Any color,  I mean any color... They have it.

Dr. Appelbaum I presume?  Or is it Fred of Arabia?

They have taken the "man chair" to a new level.

Traditional Sephardic architecture in this old synagogue.  Preserved with the help of Unesco and Jews in the diaspora who were from Fes.

The ladies are checking out the mikvah.

This dodgy square / pile of rubble is the site of the synagogue in the suburb we visited.  Open hash dealing and prostitution.  Nice hood.  When the Jews left the vacuum was filled with a pretty bad element.

This last shot was taken in the medina of Fes.  It is mostly to serve as a warning to Ruth.  This is one of the possible paths for her.  The cat lady of the medina in Fes.  

Meow for now.

Tomorrow we head into the Atlas Mountains and on to the Sahara.  I can only guess that Internet will be less available so... Do not presume foul play if I don't post.

Now: a cup of coffee at this good looking cafe.  What could possibly go wrong?

Until next time!

Greg & Ruth