We spend an entire day exploring Fes, one of Morocco’s busting cities. It was the medieval capital of the country and it’s medina (the Old City) is one of the best-preserved in the Arab world.

Our tour begins outside the Royal Palace Gate where we spy workers busily polishing the doors with citrus — those men have buckets of whole peeled lemons to rub over every crevice of detail.

We cross into the heart of the Old City.

Then our local guide throws us for a curveball — we leave the Old City and hop into a van to visit this overlook. There’s still a lot more to see in the medina, but we’ll return in the afternoon.

Our next stop is this ceramics factory. My expectations are low, but it ends up being a neat experience. And there are lots of details to photograph which keeps me busy and happy.

My favorite part is watching employees work on their craft. These rooms are full of artists painting, welding, and sculpting.

These men chisel tiny details into stones.

I’m captivated by this man — he’s painstakingly arranging these chiseled pieces into a large-scale work of art.

Next we visit a group of men welding silver onto plates and other ceramic pieces to further enhance the design.

A sample of the final products available for sale:

My tour mates show off pieces from the gift shop:

Next we return to the medina, this time walking through the market area. It’s narrow and hectic. There are a million details I want to photograph but I’m concerned about getting separated from our group, plus it’s tricky to work out who or what you’re allowed to take pictures of. This limits my photo opportunities but I enjoy soaking up the atmosphere without the distractions of a camera. Here are the few images I manage to snap:

Our local guide takes us through the narrow alleys of Fes, pointing out landmarks and intricately designed doorways along the way.

This area is especially narrow — we have to turn our shoulders to squeeze through the alleys. I use my fisheye lens to capture the space.

This is a madrasa, a religious school with dorm rooms for students to live. This particular one is Al-Attarine Madrasa, and it’s no longer in use — it’s from the 14th century and is a great example of Islamic architecture. The details are stunning.

This is the Nejjarine fountain, known for its impressive mosaic design.

Here’s a peek at a carpentry shop to the right of the fountain — I get yelled at for taking this photo. Whoops. I believe these fancy covered chairs are used to carry brides at Moroccan weddings.

By now it’s well past lunch time and our group is starving. We enjoy a delicious meal at this restaurant around the corner from the fountain.

Ellen, Tally, and Natalie pose with our bowls of shared appetizers.

A shot of our lunch… it’s a good one. Moroccan food had quickly earned a place near the top of my list of favorite international cuisines.

Our waiter is really great, always cracking jokes when he comes by our table. I ask to snap his photo on the way out.

I’ll save the afternoon portion of our Fes tour for tomorrow. It includes the best part — the leather tanneries.

Thanks to Nomadic Tours for discounting my tour in exchange for photography and blogging. Opinions are my own.