For the security of the shops, dogs are every night turned loose into the streets of the market; these animals, trained for the purpose, perform their duty so zealously, that, but for the interference of men who sleep near, they would inevitably devour such passengers as chance or business attract to the spot confided to their charge.
No monument of departed splendour exists at Fez to awaken curiosity or recal the former magnificence of the conquerors of Spain: but it boasts of many mosques, each surmounted by a square tower of about a hundred feet in height, upon which a white flag is hoisted as the signal for prayer. I visited several of them, accompanied by the good-natured negro of Mequinaz; and found them large edifices of an oblong square form, containing several galleries raised upon well-built arcades. The only one which appeared to merit particular attention is called by the Moors Mouladrib, probably from the name of its founder. It is the chief ornament of the city. The interior is preserved with the utmost care; it is paved with small pieces of well varnished Dutch tiles, of various colours and shapes, tastefully arranged in mosaic; and the whole compass of the walls, to the height of two feet and a half, is inlaid in the same manner. The arches which support the roof are of far superior workmanship to those of the other mosques; two of them are raised on finely sculptured marble columns, the other pillars are of brick, covered with plaster. The vaulted ceiling is composed of boards, painted yellow and red, and adorned by a broad band of gold colour forming the cornice. Within a sort of sanctuary, in the middle of the mosque, stands a small altar, covered with a cloth embroidered with flowers in gold; and around it are placed several glass lamps and flambeaux, and near it is a handsome lustre hanging from a gilt cupola; a multitude of suspended lamps are also dispersed throughout the temple, to enlighten the faithful. The thirsty traveller is refreshed by a very beautiful fountain which plays in an inner court and invites numbers to sleep within its cooling influence.
Neither inns nor hotels are to be found in Fez; their place is supplied only by fandacs similar to those which I have already described. Here travellers who possess beasts of burden are obliged to sleep on the ground beside them, and themselves to provide them with forage. They usually take their meals at the mosque, pass the greater part of the day there, and would sleep there if permitted. The proprietors of the fandacs exact six felouses per head for the cattle, a sum equivalent to two French sous.
Two hills, which command the city are defended each by an insignificant fortress, having embrasures but no cannon: one is situated nearly S. E., and the other, in which some prisoners were confined, is to the N. W.
The immediate environs, for two or three miles round, are highly cultivated, and produce abundance of vines, and olive, fig, apple and pear trees; near the wall are mulberry-trees of considerable height. I have seen flower-gardeners selling in the markets a great variety of flowers, similar to those which adorn our parterres in France. At some distance from the town are a great number of little mausoleums, in which the remains of the most distinguished sherifs are deposited.
Fez is computed to contain about twenty thousand inhabitants, all either artificers or traders, who carry on an extensive commerce in European manufactures, which they export to Tafilet and Timbuctoo as well as to the adjacent mountainous countries.
The 14th of August, at seven in the morning, I quitted the fandac and walked through the city with my leathern bag thrown over my shoulder. A long street conducted me to the western gate, where I hired a mule to carry me to Mequinaz; and, our provision for the journey being prepared, we departed, directing our course W. N. W., over a smooth soil composed of very good mould but uncultivated. I remarked several tents of wandering Arabs pitched beside a little river formed by the junction of the rivulets which water the environs of Fez. Our road, which was very uneven, lay between two ridges of barren hills, and crossed several well constructed bridges.
About two o’clock we rested under a bridge which sheltered us from the sun. We had in our company two women who, being under no restraint, shewed but little solicitude to conceal their fair complexions and pretty faces beneath their veils; one of them rode on my mule behind me; and I presume that my attentions were agreeable to her, as she offered me a slice of melon and a bit of bread which I accepted with pleasure. Our pretty fellow-travellers, however, learning that the Emperor had set out for Rabat, returned to Fez, and I continued my route with my guide alone; our mules keeping up so good a pace that I estimated our progress at four miles an hour.
At five in the morning we arrived at Mequinaz, the streets of which city were as dirty and narrow as those of Fez; and, entering a fandac, I begged to be allowed to sleep in a stable, a favour which the master refused in the rudest manner. Turning from a place which offered so little hospitality to an unfortunate stranger, I sought refuge in the mosque, the asylum of the indigent: there I hoped to repose in peace till the morning; but alas! I was disappointed. About ten at night an old bamâb (porter) came to me, and kicking me, roughly desired me in a hoarse voice to rise and begone, for he was about to shut up. In vain I represented myself as a stranger not knowing whither to go, and implored him to allow me to pass the night in this retreat: without the least regard to my situation he compelled me to leave the mosque. Such conduct ought not to have surprised me, for in this part of Africa, as in some other more civilized countries, men are distinguished only by their apparel, and it must be confessed that mine did not plead in my favour; but I considered that it would be highly imprudent to study my dress: my rags excited no attention, and this livery of poverty served as a veil with which prudence required that I should still envelop myself.
I possessed some pieces of silver and four buckles made of gold from the mines of Bouré; but, as it would have been dangerous to shew them, I took my bag upon my shoulder, and left the mosque, uncertain where to find repose for my sick and wearied frame. For a short time I wandered about the streets meditating on my forlorn condition, and, oppressed by the recollection of the humiliations, fatigues, and privations which I had already endured, and by the chilling sense of those which I still experienced, I could not altogether suppress my tears. Let me hope this weakness was excusable in my disastrous situation: it was within sight of the desired haven that I was most in danger of shipwreck. With a heart sinking under these reflections, I sought shelter in the shop of a dealer in vegetables, who, taking me at first for a Berber, would not suffer my intrusion; when, however, I told him that I was an Arab, he left me in tranquillity to pass the night on the ground. Laying my head on the leather bag which contained my notes, I enjoyed a short forgetfulness of misery, but was soon awakened by the cold, and sleep solaced me no more during the night.