Fes is to dye-for

Famous: The thousand-year-old Chouara Tannery is an landmark in Fes.

Dodging donkeys is not quite as dangerous as running with the bulls but it’s not entirely without risks. Our guide warned us to take evasive action whenever we heard the call ‘balek, balek’ (Arabic for ‘get out of the way’) as we walked down the labyrinth of alleyways lined with souks in the Medina of Fes el Bali, but we were not quite prepared for the frequency of the donkeys.

There are about 4000 donkeys and mules plying the narrow winding paths within the walls of the oldest medina in Morocco, most of which seemed to be out in force the day we were there. One poor chap was in serious need of orthodontic work.

We soon became adept at hurling ourselves against a wall of Moroccan babouches (slippers) or carpets as a hand cart or beast of burden clattered by with a load twice its size. It added to the excitement, fun and colour of this quintessentially Fes-esque experience.

Donkeys, mules and hand carts are the life blood of the 9000 alleyways that crisscross the world’s largest car-free urban space. With no mechanised transportation to service the souks, man and beast haul all the fresh produce and raw materials demanded daily by the thousands of traders and artisans, as they have done for centuries.

Bargains from the soukThe souks sell everything from food to homewares and many who live and work there never venture beyond their own neighbourhood, our guide Nabil said. There were great bargains to be found in brightly-coloured handbags, shoes, scarves, fabrics, ceramics and carpets once you understood the protocols of the haggling process which ended up with prices about a half to a third of the original figure. The salesmen were invariably good-natured, never aggressive.

My head was on a swivel in Fes with a myriad of sights all clamouring for attention. We spent two days exploring this ancient imperial city on our Ancient Kingdoms tour with the New Zealand-based Innovative Travel Company. Founded in the 9th century during the Idrisid dynasty, the city is regarded as the spiritual, cultural, intellectual and religious capital of Morocco.

One of many highlights was the thousand-year-old Chouara Tannery, an iconic landmark in Fes. The tannery processes cow, sheep, goat and camel hide using methods largely unchanged since medieval times. We watched from a balcony above as men, waist deep in dye, tended to the hides in dozens of stone tubs.

The hides are immersed in a mixture of cow urine, quick-lime, water and salt, then soaked in water and pigeon droppings which contain ammonia that acts as a softening agent, allowing them to become malleable so they can absorb dye. The stench is powerful so we were glad of the sprigs of rosemary handed to us.

The tanners use bare feet to knead the hides for up to three hours to achieve the desired softness after which they are placed in pits containing natural vegetable dyes — poppy for red, indigo for blue, henna for orange, cedar wood for brown, mint for green, and saffron for yellow. Pomegranate powder is also rubbed on the hides to turn them yellow, and olive oil to make them shiny.

After drying in the sun, the finished product is sold to craftsmen to make the famous Moroccan babouches (slippers), jackets, wallets, handbags and furniture.

I brought a pair of bright pink babouches home with me. They shine among the sea of black and beige that seem to dominate my shoe collection, and remind of the Moroccans’ love of colour.

• Justine Tyerman travelled on an Ancient Kingdoms tour with Moroccan specialists, The Innovative Travel Company, a New Zealand company design tailor-made tours to suit individual tastes and budgets. www.innovativetravel.co.nz • Justine flew Emirates Airlines, www.emirates.com, from Auckland to Casablanca.