Looking for an unique art decor piece for your renovated space? Wishing to bring a piece of Morocco into your home? If you're not quite ready to pack your suitcase and hop onto a plane yet, please read on for the solutions I have for you.
 

From the magnificent landscapes of the Atlas Mountains, let's continue our Moroccan journey and head to the lively city of crafts, Fes. If you missed the first part of the trip, you can catch up on Casablanca, then Essaouira and Marrakech, the not-to-be-missed desert scenes and the Atlas Mountains. 

In Fes, we stayed in this riad that is an artwork in itself. Here's a view out to the courtyard and a glimpse of the mosaic tilework of an interior staircase that carries through onto the walls and floor.

Let's start exploring the city and see the craftspeople at work! One of the places you can visit is a leather tannery. In the medina markets there are lots of leather products for sale including purses and bags, Moroccan slippers and shoes, and pouf ottomans. At the tannery you can see the process of how the leather is prepared and dyed into different colours (of course you can purchase leather products here too!). Please note this is a busy workplace, so please be careful when walking through to avoid being in the way of the workers.  

Leather Tannery

Another location to visit to see craftspeople at work is a tile and pottery apprentice school. Here you can watch the delicate work in creating thumbnail-sized tile pieces using chisels, and arranging them to form dazzling mosaic patterns to decorate tabletops and furniture pieces. As for pottery, you can see them from being spun on the pottery wheel to being hand-painted with Moroccan designs.

If you're looking for a Moroccan rug for your home, here you'll find a myriad of colours and patterns of handwoven rugs to choose from. You're bound to find one that suits your home's decor!

If you thought the mosaics and rugs above were a dizzying array of patterns, have a look into this small shop where the craftsman is surrounded on all sides with teapots and platters. The intricate patterns on the platters are quite an amazing sight, aren't they?

At times I was so busy capturing these sights in the medina that I forgot to pay attention to the narrow alleyway in which I was walking, and almost got run over by a donkey pulling a cart of goods through the market! When I came to a quieter spot, I noticed these magnificent architectural details and waited for the perfect moment to capture this image. 

To see more photos from Fes, please visit this photo gallery in my travel portfolio. What did you like most about this city?
 

Friendly hint: you can buy these prints from my online shop, or contact me for customized sizes and print medium. My entire collection of photos from Morocco can be found in my photo book "Patterns of Morocco" - you can see an excerpt here. If you'd like to order a copy of the book for yourself or your family, friends or clients, please reach me via the Contact form.

I hope you've enjoyed this visit to Fes. Follow me on my next blog post as we continue this journey through Morocco, where we'll head to the blue town of Chefchaouen (one of my favourite places in Morocco)!