Fès (Morocco)

it was by bus and it was sunset. Fez is a medieval walled city and the road approach goes to the main wall gates. Set in the desert with the sun setting behind it and thousands of the bird which roost in the ancient walls swirling and calling around the city, it was an amazing sight. And once you're inside, it gets even better. The ancient part of the town is the medina, the old Arab quarter, which is both compelling and utterly confusing - get a guide if you can find a good one, cos you WILL get lost. The alleys are narrow and there's no such thing as a straight line in the entire city, what with people in arab clothes wandering around, frequently with donkeys, it looks almost biblical. Top buys here include carpets, but haggle like MAD and even then you're probably being ripped off - these guys are pros, so don't buy for an investment, buy what you like and then it'll be worth whatever you paid for it. Sometimes its worth trying to barter things, but you'll have to use your judgement. Getting henna paintings on your hands (the traditional kind) is very popular but bear in mind that one, it's easy to get done by someone using crap henna, and two, you have to wait 10 hours or so for the stuff to dry - and you can't do anything with your hands in the meantime or you'll smudge the design, which is a bit of a pain. My favourite souvenir was a coke bottle with coke written in arabic on it, and a mosque shaped alarm clock - but that's probably just me.