Medina of Fez

Fes is one of Morocco’s imperial cities, meaning it includes one of the king’s many palaces, and the palace complex here covers 200 acres. It includes a golf course and a full museum of artifacts and works of art from throughout Morocco’s history. The king wants to open it to the public but the government is resisting. Fes was founded in 808 CE and became a refuge for hundreds of Muslim families expelled from Spain. They were joined by Muslim families from Tunisia. Together they made Fes the strongest influencer on Moroccan Arabization and Islamization.

By the 11th century the city had a wall and became a cultural and economic metropolis. It had an important university, a new city was added in 1250 (still called the new city) and then the French built an even “newer” town. After independence the wealthier people moved to the French “new” city and the poorer folks moved into the medina.

Fes contains the largest and oldest medina in Morocco, established in the 9th century. It has 9000 streets. Some of what constitutes a street can hardly be walked through and anything large delivered to those streets has to be dropped in from above. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one they have been particularly active in, restoring some of the magnificent roads (home built around a courtyard garden) and bringing infrastructure like electricity and plumbing to the residents.

There are 14 gateways into the medina and it’s divided into two sections. A small river runs through to divide the two sections into the Kairohanais (for those who came from Tunisia) and the Andalusian (for those who came from Spain). You will see that this medina truly reflects the concept of a communal living neighborhood with residences as well as services both secular and religious.

Overlooking part of the medina

Some sections have small plazas with trees and you see here and some streets are very narrow when you get towards the middle

One of the many gates for entering the medina, this one aptly named the Blue Gate

The inside of the Blue Gate is decorated in green tile.

People are starting to prepare for Ramadan that begins in another week. There are many varieties of dates that grow in Morocco.

The donkeys are part of the scene inside the medina.

This donkey is delivering gas canisters. Notice the wood work on doors and overhangs. If you remember the posting of the Casablanca medina, they are trying to replicate the beautiful woodwork you see here.

What makes a neighborhood and community- the mosque (you see the minaret here)

the communal water source

and the bath house. What you see on the stands in front of the entrances are marble signs, mostly for grave markers and that too makes a community.

When you pass from one neighborhood to another you pass through a gate like this one.

When you come into a religious area you pass under a bar that some have to duck. This tells you that no donkeys or motorcycles are permitted within this zone.

This is one of the narrowest streets in the medina.

This is a water clock and as you can see there are twelve long poles, 12 windows, and twelve posts, one for each hour. The posts held brass bowls, the poles had ropes with brass balls on the end. As water emptied from the bowls the balls rose and on the hour when the balls reached the top a door would close. The bowls and balls have been removed and sent to a museum in Rabat.

The river that divides the two sides of the medina.