Fez is a beautiful city. It was found in 789 AD and is considered a holy city in Islam. In the old city, or Medina as it is called, the thousands upon thousands of little alleyways and tiny streets gives it a real medieval feeling. The streets are lined with shopkeepers, stalls, vendors and craftsmen of every kind. Most places the streets are so narrow that supplies need to be transported in on Donkeys. It's also very easy to get lost in them and I'm sure some of the team did! (You'll have to ask them for that story).
When we stood on the roof of the building where we stayed we could see a thousand minarets riddled across the city. And when the muezzins started calling for prayer it sounded like the very foundations of the old city started humming.
We lived right in the middle of the Medina with our hosts. Since it is illegal, and very dangerous, to talk to anybody about Jesus, we spent big parts of the day in the house praying. Most of us had probably never prayed like that before. But we prayed for every square centimetre of that city and of Morocco.
At some point, at a certain place which I'm not allowed to reveal, I somehow overheard two men talking about a secret meeting for the underground church later that day. Up to this point we had heard about Moroccan Christians but we hadn't actually met any. It was a dream of mine to be part of an underground church meeting so I gathered my courage and approached one of the men to ask If I could join them for the meeting. After giving it some thought he approved with one condition: I would have to find the place on my own, with just his verbal directions!
Later that day when the time came I entered the maze of tiny streets, trying to remember the directions. I finally stopped short in front of an old wooden door. Not sure if I was at the right place. Then a familiar face opened the door and I was quickly ushered in. The meeting was already taking place and the room was packed with Moroccan Christians! In fact the room was too small and people started spilling over into the courtyard. I took my place on an open seat in the courtyard. The whole meeting was in the Arabic dialect, Dirija, so I couldn't understand a word. But it looked great and I was just so excited to be a part of it I didn't care!
Below: the team in front of the palace doors in Fez.
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