Housing -- a la Fes

There is a world of difference between the home in which we stayed while we were there -- and the house Tim lives in. Jim & Patti live in "Newville" which is in an upscale area of the town. Tim lives, as I've said before, just outside the medina in a riad with Brian and a couple of other guys.

Homes for the upper class are huge -- some of them make the average American 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, two car garage, etc etc look rather small and shabby. But -- they are also designed to house 2 to 4 generations of family. Sometimes there will be three apartments in one home -- Jim and Patti live on the ground and first floors of one such home -- another family lives in the apartment upstairs. Looking at it from the outside, you'd never guess it was a two family home. >>

(This is actually the house across the street from Jim & Patti's. I'm standing on their front porch)

We had a room and a full bath on the ground floor where the kitchen and family "salon" are. (The shower is designed for your basic Lilliputian, but that's another story). Tim stayed in one of the bedrooms upstairs -- there is also a smaller salon, a larger salon off the smaller one, the master bedroom, a full bath with a shower for regular folk, and two offices. Jim and Patti entertain a LOT -- and have a lot of folks staying with them. This house is truly a blessing.



Ground floor "family" salon.



One of the salons upstairs.


Then there is Tim's house. A "riad" is a home with a courtyard -- usually two -- maybe even three stories in a square surrounding the open ceiling. The sun shines. It rains. Birds poop. Into the courtyard -- which isn't a yard, but is tiled. Tim's house is huge too. I lost track of the bedrooms -- Brian often houses guys who are going to the language school who don't want a home stay -- but only one bathroom down a dark hallway. I'd love to know when it was built -- my guess is sometime in the 1800s.



Doorway to Tim's Place




Front Door


Sun, rain, and bird doody comes from on high...looking up from the middle of the courtyard.

"TV" room.




When was the last time you had a pillar like this in your home? Tim has at least 8 of them.

They also have a true Moroccan "squatty potty" which is not for the faint of heart. And CERTAINLY not for someone of my vintage.

And last, but certainly not least, on the street where he lives.