XVII century house in the middle of ancient medina of Fes

About this assignment

We are looking for a house sitter, or preferably a couple, to take care of our house. Daily plant watering is required, as well as feeding 2 cats on the terrace (which aren't even ours!). The cats do not live inside the house. This is only for people who like it HOT. Fes gets hot in summer, but it's a dry heat, it's OK if you are out of the sun.

We would need someone to be at our house from or before 10th July , until around the 10th September 2024 (Moroccan immigration allows a 90-day stay). We need house sitters for the entire duration, so please don't apply if you cannot cover the whole period. We would kindly ask you to sleep at our house every day. You are very welcome to come earlier and travel around Morocco or stay longer after your house sitting period. There are plenty of day trips from Fes.

Our house is located in the middle of the old town of Fes. The city is an enchanting place, exotic, loud, and full of smells. The narrow streets of this largest medieval pedestrianised city in the world will let you travel back a few hundred years in time. It's definitely one of the unique places in the world, where time seems to have stopped. It's been declared a UNESCO site and you won't be bored here.


As for the house duties, the few pot plants we have on the terrace need to be watered daily. There are also plants inside the house which need watering less frequently. We would also love to come back to a clean house (so we don't spend the first week scrubbing the sink, for example... as you may have noticed, we've had some bad experiences, but way more good ones!).

We do have air conditioning in one bedroom, but electricity is expensive so we would ask you to pay for what you use. The rest of the house has fans, so you would need to be able to cope with the heat. We are looking for a couple rather than a single person, preferably someone who has experience with a Muslim country.

Our four-storey, two-bedroom house has ADSL internet connection (solid 10mbs), hot water, a kitchen, and a bathroom. We've been living here for over 10 years and it's comfortable. Our house has a number of stairs, so it's not really suitable for people with mobility issues. We've had many house sitters in the past and are happy to pass on contacts if you have any questions.

We are asking you to pay your own bills (we will cover the cost of water, as most of it will go for watering our plants) €35 per month for the internet, and electricity depending on your usage (around €50 paid on arrival, recalculated on your departure) to cover the bills, as well as a security deposit of €500 (refunded on departure).

Happy to provide more information, photos, and chat on whatsapp.

If you like exotic places, this is the place for you!

What responsibilities are required of the house sitter

Feeding a cats daily, ensuring other cats (roaming the terraces) don't eat the food and water the plants daily, ensuring the house is occupied at all the times, keeping the house clean and tidy especially for our arrival :)

Though not a necessity we do love getting photos of the cats and plants while we are away :)

What are the good features of the property and location

We are right in the middle of historical wonder. UNESCO heritage side, medieval pearl of the World, the time stopped here and you are invited to be part of it. Great and very cheap food!

We had many house sitters, few of them came back so we have plenty of testimonials, but we can't upload them on this platform. Happy to provide contact details to our previous house sitters so you get an objective view.

We are inviting you to share our 17th century house in the heart of the ancient medina in magnificent Fes. Relax on the terrace, enjoy stunning views, before walking out the door to immerse yourself in scenes that remain little changed in centuries.

The smaller bedroom has a (new) sofa bed which turns into comfortable double bed, bedside cabinet and a lamp. There is also a desk and a small cupboard. Windows to the lane and courtyard. It's on the first floor and is not ensuite.

The second larger bedroom has a king size bed, moroccan sofa with pillows, bedside cabinets with lamps and a wooden wardrobe. There is a large window with wooden shutters overlooking the courtyard. It's on the first floor and isn't ensuite. There is also a single bed in the room which we use to store our pillows.

The salon downstairs is now being turned into bread making space (as we run micro bakery from home - not when you are staying here!)

The toilet is on the courtyard level one floor below the 2 bedrooms and another one in the bathroom downstairs. The rooms have traditional cedar ceilings, decorative wall lamps, zelij (moroccan hand made mosaic) on the floor. Wooden doors lead to the internal balcony.

We provide towels.


THE HOUSE

The house has 4 levels and 38 stairs. The bathroom with a walk in shower is downstairs, the courtyard level has a kitchen (oven, gas hob, fridge and freezer as well as kitchen utensils), living room with sofas, coffee table and two arm chairs, salon (lounge/dining room) and separate toilet.

Our house is a traditional 300 year traditional old Moroccan dar (dar means house in Arabic, while Riad means garden, so the house is generally much bigger and has a garden). We have restored it using traditional materials, however as it's our home we have decided not to turn it into the "museum" but a living space. We have a mixture of old and modern furniture as well as a few mod cons. The floors are uneven, stairs irregular, things sometimes don't work the same way as in 'civilised world'. But we are always on hand to help you navigate these challenge (like low water pressure etc).




THE TERRACE

The south facing roof top terrace overlooks the medina and Fort Sud. We are on a hill so the view on the terrace is spectacular. There is a table and chairs, part of the terrace has a pergola providing shade. There is an olive tree as well as many plants which we may ask you to water when needed.


WIFI INTERNET

There is a fast (as for Moroccan standards - 10mb/s) and reliable wifi internet throughout the house.
However thick 17th century walls do restrict the signal in some areas.


LOCATION

We are right in the middle of the old town. Medina is a labyrinth, part of the fun being here is getting lost. Finding our house can be a challenge so it's important you come prepared and have the location of our house saved on your smartphone map To help you find our house: we are one street away from Dar Gnaua, hotel listed on Google maps. For users of Which3words, our location is ///snap.peachy.actors or ///holidays.ripples.escapes

All the attractions are within 5-15 min walk from our house. One of the self guided medina tours passes not far from our doors. You can navigate the old town with latest free smartphone apps, which can be used offline without the need for mobile internet access. Taxis and public transport for destinations outside the medina are also few minutes away.

PARKING: as we live in the worlds biggest pedestrianised medieval city the nearest car covered park is 15min walk. It costs €2 a night. Outdoor car park costs €1 night.

What does the house sitter need to consider before applying for this assignment

PLEASE DO NOT APPLY IF YOU CANNOT COVER THE WHOLE PERIOD.


Note that we have used the address of a hotel in Fes to generate this Google map to accompany this listing. We are right in the middle of medina not far to Riad Dar Bensouda found on google maps.

Can I bring my own pets?

No, sorry.

Enlarge map