Visit the ancient city of Fez in Morocco

“As a photographer, entering the medina is love at first sight. There’s just so much action happening all at once. I pushed my back against the wall to let a donkey carrying hundreds of gallons of water bottles pass me with inches to spare; peeked into an open door to watch sparks fly from a blacksmith’s workshop; took in the aroma of lamb and prunes cooking in a tagine pot right there on the street.”

“So I rose with the first call to prayer of the day and stepped out into the half-light of the labyrinth. I wandered tentatively, afraid of getting lost in the maze of alleyways, and moved slowly trying to settle into the still-sleeping city. At that time the birds are deafening and the starlings particularly noisy. Their strange loud whooting combined with barking alley dogs rattled me and I wondered if leaving the safety of our lodgings at this hour wasn’t actually a little bit silly…”

“As we walked, great beams were jammed as supports between precariously bulging walls on either side of us, impossibly narrow passageways split off to our sides and low pieces of ancient buildings crossed the walkways. Travelling at any speed through the medieval heart of Fez would be something like running an alternative architectural obstacle course, invloving twists and turns as you squeezed down paths, edging carefully around pitch black alley openings and ducking under timbers.”