Fes (Fez) Listings

Fes (Fez) Travel Itinerary

Listings

Airlines Royal Air Maroc has an office at 54 Av. Hassan II in the Ville Nouvelle (tel 05/562 5516).

Arabic Language Institute in Fes (ALIF) is at 2 Rue Ahmed Hiba (tel 05/562 4850, www.azure.net/alif ) near the Youth Hostel and the Hotel Menzeh Zalagh . This American initiative offers a range of courses and the possibility of private/specialized lessons. There are three-week (60hr) and six-week (120hr) courses in Colloquial Moroccan Arabic or Modern Standard Arabic at all levels. ALIF also has its own residence for students, or the option of a homestay with a Moroccan family. Since ALIF doubles up as an English school, the American Language Center, it is also a good place to meet up with young Moroccans.

Banks Most of the banks are grouped along Bd. Mohammed V. As always, the BMCE (branches at Place Mohammed V, Place Florence and Place de l'Atlas) is best for exchange and handles VISA/Access transactions, as well as travellers' cheques. Others include: Banque Populaire (Av. Mohammed V; quick service for currency and travellers' cheques), Credit du Maroc (Av. Mohammed V) and SGMB (at the intersection of Rue el Houria and Rue Soudan). Banque Populaire also has three branches in Fes El Bali: halfway down Talaa Sghira, north of the Medersa el Attarin, and on Rue Kaid Khammar by Bab Ftouh. SGMB by Bab Boujeloud is closed Friday afternoon but open Saturday morning. One place that will change money outside banking hours (or within them) is Karima Voyages at 106 Bd. Mohammed V (Mon-Sat 8.30am-12.30pm & 2.30-8pm, Sun 8.30am-12.30pm only). Most of the four- or five-star hotels will change money and cheques at a pinch.

Bookshops The Librairie du Centre, 134 Bd. Mohammed V (near the post office), has a small shelf of books in English, mostly classic novels.

Car rental Fes has quite a number of rental companies, though none are as cheap as the best deals in Casa. Call around the following, which all allow return delivery to a different centre: First Car, Av. des F.A.R, (tel 05/593 0909), also at the Sheraton hotel; Avis, 50 Bd. Abdallah Chefchouni (tel 05/562 6746); Budget, 6 Rue Chenguit aka Av. Lalla Asma (tel 05/594 0092); Europcar, 45 Av. Hassan II (tel 05/562 6545); Hertz, Bd. Lalla Maryem, 1 Kissariat de la Foire (tel 05/562 2812); Tourvilles, 15 Rue Houman el Fetouaki, off Bd. Mohammed V (tel 05/562 6635). Avis, Europcar and Hertz have desks at the airport.

Car repairs Mechanics can be found in the vicinity of the train station. The garage on Rue Soudan (tel 05/562 2232) is good for Renault repairs.

Cinemas Several in the Ville Nouvelle, show foreign films - mainly dubbed into French. The one inside Bab Boujeloud is entertaining, showing an Indian and a Kung Fu film ("the history and the geography", as they call it) each day, as does the one at Bab Ftouh.

Festivals and cultural events Since 1995, Fes has hosted a Festival of World Sacred Music (held in June), which has developed into the country's most interesting and inspiring cultural festival. Recent years have seen Sufi chanters from Azerbaijan, dervishes from Kurdistan, a Javanese gamelan, a Byzantine choir from Greece, and a Jewish cantor. Concerts take place at Place Moulay Hassan north of the Mechouar, at the Batha Museum, and sometimes further afield, such as amid the ruins of Volubilis. Details are available from the secretariat (tel 05/563 6201 or 99; fesfestival@fesnet.net.ma ), or on the festival's Web site at www.fezfestival.com . Major local festivals are the students' Moussem of Sidi Harazem (held outside the city in Sidi Harazem at the end of April) and the Moulay Idriss II Moussem (held in the city, in September). There are other moussems held locally - ask at the tourist office for details - and some good events a little further out, like the Fete des Cerises at Sefrou in June, and the Fete du Cheval at Tissa in September.

Cultural events in the city are relatively frequent, both Moroccan- and French-sponsored. Again, ask for details at the tourist office, or at the Institut Francais (tel 05/562 3921) on Rue des Etats-Unis, at the corner of Rue Loukili. A Son et Lumiere show is presented from March to October; daily except Sun, 9.30pm; the show lasts 45min and costs 100dh. The show is in Arabic, English, French or Spanish - check that it will be in a language you understand on the night you intend to go. The audience views the show from the Borj Sud, which is south of Bd. Allal El Fassi, the broad avenue which links the Ville Nouvelle with Bab El Djedid and Bab Ftouh, between which a track leads uphill alongside the Bab Ftouh cemetery. Information and reservations from Immeuble la Mamda, Apt 65, Place de Florence (tel /fax 05/593 1893).

Petrol stations Several are to be found around Place de l'Atlas, near the beginning of the road to Sefrou and Midelt.

Hammams Two are located through Bab Boujeloud, on the Talaa Seghira; if you are unfamiliar with the routine, and since the staff may well speak Arabic and Berber only, it is best, especially for women, to ask someone at your hotel to escort you. At Hammam Mernisi, on the bend in the road just before you reach the cinema, and the cleaner and better of the two options, the hours are: women noon-6pm, men 6am-noon & 6pm-10pm. At Hammam Sidi Azouz, opposite Hotel Lamrani , hours are: women noon-10pm, men 10pm-noon. The oldest hammam in Fes (Hammam Kantarte Bourous - for men only) is on Rue ech Cherabliyin. Don't forget to take your towel, soap, shampoo and swimsuit (or change of underwear).

Internet access Internet clubs include Cyber Internet at 42 Rue des Etats Unis, currently one of the best-value places in Morocco for email and Internet access (daily 8.30am-midnight; 10dh/hr). Other options include F@ssinet two floors up at 12 Av. Hassan II (Mon-Sat 9am-9pm, Sun 10am-1pm & 3-8pm; 25dh/hr), and the Peacock cybercafe at 25 Rue Mohammed Slaoui (daily 9.30am-9pm; 15dh/hr).

Laundry In the Nouvelle Ville, try Pressing Dallas, 44 Rue Asilah near Hotel Mounia (tel 05/565 0739); near Bab Boujeloud, there's a laundry at the northern end of Place Istiqlal by the local post office.

Newspapers In summer you may find some British dailies on sale at stalls on Av. Mohammed V (for example on the corner of Rue Abdelkrim El Khattabi), otherwise try the newsagent at 16 Place 16 Novembre for the USA Today and the British Guardian Weekly , as well as Time, Newsweek and The Economist ; the International Herald Tribune is sometimes sold at 34 Av. Hassan II.

Pharmacies There are numerous pharmacies throughout the Ville Nouvelle, and there's also one just outside Bab Boujeloud, and one on Grande Rue des Merenides in the Mellah. The Pharmacie du Municipalite, just up from Place de la Resistance, on Av. Abdelkrim El Kattabi, stays open all night.

Police There are commissariats by the post office on Av. Mohammed V, and off Place de l'Istiqlal on the road to the right of the post office that leads to Cinema Boujeloud. The police emergency number is 19.

Post office The main PTT is on the corner of Bd. Mohammed V/Av. Hassan II in the Ville Nouvelle (open July-Sept Mon-Fri 8am-3.30pm, Sat 8am-noon; Oct-June Mon-Fri 8.30am-6.45pm, Sat 8am-noon); the poste restante section is inside the

main building; the phones section (daily 8.30am-9pm) has a separate side entrance when the rest is closed. There are branch post offices on Place des Alouites on the edge of the Mellah, and in the Medina just north of Medersa el Attarin.

Swimming pools There is a Municipal Pool (open mid-June to mid-Sept) on Av. des Sports, just west of the train station. The upmarket Hotel Menzeh Zalagh has an open air pool, but at 60dh for nonresidents, this is a little pricey.

Your Tips For Fes (Fez)