City of Fes
Fes is called the heart of Morocco, its religious and cultural capital. This city is hidden under a veil, and during a short visit, it will never be possible to look into its soul. No wonder the French called him “the mysterious stranger.” Fes is the green city of Morocco and the symbolic center of Moroccan Islam (green is the sacred color). As you wander through the maze of shady streets, the scents of mint and spices float in the air, patches of sunlight dance on the whitewashed walls of the old city, and you can touch the unsolved mystery of the oldest of the country’s four cities.
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Basic moments
New Fes is still surrounded by fortifications with gates. The population rushed from the old city to the west, so New Fes is located to the west of the Old. The tower of the Bou Inania Madrasah, a theological school built in 1350, dominates the city in the fertile valley of the Fes River.
In the heart of the city is the oldest university in the world, Qarawiyn, still considered one of the greatest schools of Islam in the Arab world. Fassis (that is the name of the inhabitants of the city) has always been at the epicenter of the cultural and political life of Morocco, maintaining and strengthening the high reputation of a beloved city throughout North Africa and beyond.
Fes al Bali (Old Fes) is one of the oldest surviving cities in the world. It consists of “traditional seven elements”: these are mosques, madrasahs (theological schools), suki (markets), Fonduki (caravanserais, houses where merchants stopped and negotiated deals), fountains, a hammam (steam bath), and a bakery – it is a bustling mix of city, museum, and workshop that has perhaps not changed over the years.
On the streets, artisans create their products using traditional technologies and sell them right there. You can see how soft leather is dyed, see how the sun shines on copper pots, how engraving on brass plates, how colorful ceramics and embroideries are made, how cedar products and carpets are sold, chanting prices in hoarse voices so that the echo is heard in surrounding courtyards. Be sure to go to a shop selling Moroccan carpets. There you will definitely be treated to mint tea and show hundreds of amazing carpets, and for them, you will have to pay only a fraction of the price that will be asked in Europe. If you are looking for a good carpet and at the same time like to bargain, you are guaranteed an unforgettable experience!
Story
A settlement on the east bank of the Fez River was founded on c. 789 by Idris I, on the opposite side of the river – 20 years later by his son Idris II, who made Fes the capital of the state of Idrisids (state of Fes). The Almoravids united both parts of the city in the 11th century, and under the Almohads at the end of the 12th century, Fez became one of the largest (if not the largest) cities in the entire Islamic world. In the middle of the 14th century, the Marinids restored Fez as the capital of Morocco and embellished it with new buildings.
It seems that Fez has influenced every period of Moroccan history, the movement for the country’s independence was born here. Even today it is a source of formation of national public opinion. And although judging by the “New City” (Ville Nouvelle), many young Moroccans live in prosperity, adopt Western clothes and Western habits, by and large, this city is orthodox, conservative, and with a high level of poverty. Here, more than anywhere else in the Arab world, the culture of the materialistic West clashes with Islamic tradition.
Recognizing the uniqueness of Fes, UNESCO 1980 began the restoration of many of its pearls. Today, the city is trying to preserve its ancient identity and find its own place in the new millennium. To learn more about Fes, book the 3 days tour from Marrakech to Merzouga.
What to try
Harira – a thick bean soup with vegetables and meat, as well as tajines – stewed vegetables, meat, or fish cooked in earthen ovens, also couscous. For lovers of the exotic – pastilla de dude, pigeon meat with beaten eggs, where sugar and cinnamon are added.
Worth to visit
Al-Karawiyn is a religious and educational complex. The Guinness Book of Records recognizes it as “the world’s oldest continuously operating institution of higher education.” Book with Around Morocco travel.
What to buy
Leather goods, ceramics, spices, and carpets.
Time to visit the madrasah
All Fes madrasas can be visited at about the same time: daily 8.30 – 17.00, except Friday morning. Entrance is paid (a single ticket to all madrasas does not exist).
Attractions Fes
Fes-el-Bali
This sea of houses with towers of minarets rising to the sky is the oldest part of the city, consisting of two distinctive districts, or quarters: the eastern Andalusian (Andalous), founded by the Shiites who fled from Andalusia in 814, and the western Karaouin (Karaouiyne), founded in 825 by Shiites, refugees from Tunisian Kairouan. Andalusian men are considered the best artisans, and women – the first beauties. Carauins are businessmen. These quarters are very different from each other: Andalusian is calmer, Carauin is fussier. More than 250 thousand people live in the largest Moroccan medina, and it is also called “the most confusing square mile.”
Fes-el-Jdid (Fes-el-Jdid)
“New Fez” was built in 1276 by the Merenids as a fortress designed to protect against the rebellious inhabitants of “Old Fez”. The area, which is dominated by the Royal Palace (Palais Royal), began to decline after the French moved the capital to Rabat. Today, the feeling of desolation does not leave here, intensified by the view of the empty houses of the Jewish quarter. Most of the 17 thousand Jews living in the city after the Arab-Israeli war of 1967 left for Israel.
Bab Boujeloud
The flamboyant Bab Bujelud Gate, the main entrance to the medina, with the name of the gateway to all of Fez. The area adjacent to them was reconstructed with the transfer of the bus station and taxi stand outside the walls of the area.
Bab Dekakene
More like a castle than a gate, this 14th-century “Gate of Benches” was once a place where criminals are judging. And form the imposing entrance to Fes el-Jdid. In 1437. The Portuguese prince hung upside down here for four days. After which they made a stuffed animal out of him and put him on public display next to the gate for 30 years. Further, next to Bab Seba, the unemployed, like hundreds of years ago. Stand with tools in their hands, propping up the wall, Waiting for potential employers. Near the western end of avenue des Francais.
Borj Nord, or Northern Fortress
It was in terms of building in the 16th century. By the Saadian Sultan El-Mansour with the aim of subordinating the Fissis. Its walls offer a panoramic view of the valley. Today, the fortress houses the Museum of Weapons, showing. In particular, the 12-ton Fatima gun used by El Mansour against the Portuguese during the Battle of the Three Kings in 1578.
Next to Hotel Merinides. You can get there by “small taxi” (petit taxi). Open Tue-Sun 8.30-12.00 and 14.30-18.00. Paid entrance.
Caravanserais (fondouk) and bazaars (souk)
Fes is also the capital of crafts. In its bazaars, the most skillful and not always cheap works of Moroccan masters are presenting. Walking through the streets full of goods will give an unforgettable experience. But this is by no means only a tourist attraction. The bazaars of the medina have existed for centuries, It is a living history that develops independently of the outside world.
Dyers Market (Souk des Teinturiers)
Dyers from the 10th century live and work on this small street. After the Arabic name of the Souk Sabbighin market. Blackened workshops, in which vats gurgle and fire roar, seem to have come here from another era. In the old days, dyes of natural, vegetable origin were in hands of people. But today they are often replacing chemicals.
Tanneries
The work of the tanners at the Souk Dabbaghin Bazaar is truly enchanting. Workers in shorts only jump among huge vats. Dipping skins in a mixture of dye and pigeon droppings (used to soften skins). For dyeing, the skin is inside with vats for up to two weeks. After which it is drying on the slopes of the hills, as their ancestors did in the 16th century. The place is, delicately speaking, “with a smell.”
Fontaine Nejjarine
Najarian Square is at the end of the bazaar of the same name. The name of which in translation means “carpentry”. And the bazaar itself is a street whose air is with the smell of cedarwood. 18th-century fountain on the square covers a wonderfully carved canopy and has a decoration with magnificent colored mosaics. On the opposite side of the square, there is a fund of the quarter (traditional caravanserai). Which today houses the Museum of Nejjarine (Musee Nejjarine; open: daily 10.00-17.00; entrance fee).
20 m south of the Souk Attarin bazaar, 20 m west of the mausoleum of Moulay Idris II.
Bujeloud Gardens (Jardins Boujeloud)
An island of silence and greenery surrounded by a bustling city. In the southern part, there is a large waterwheel, formerly used to irrigate bamboo plantations and exotic flowers. Enjoy mint tea at Waterwheel Cafe. south of avenue des Francais.
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