Fes City

Fes – FEZ: The Athens of the north, the great guardian of traditions, Fez is the counterpoint of Marrakech in a way that is the reverse of the coin. If Marrakech is festive, extroverted, and shows the sensuality of the nearby desert and the African presence, Fes is secret, discreet, religious, intellectual, and focused on always looking at herself in her Andalusian past.

Furthermore, in Marrakech the African features are evident, this one still preserves its Andalusian imprint not only in the buildings but also in its music called Andadusí, the classical music par excellence in Morocco, or in the physiognomies of undoubted Andalusian origin that live in it.

However, the Spanish-Moroccan style of Fez will be the model to follow throughout Morocco to this day. From very ancient times, great politicians emerged from this city, (still today), who govern the destiny of the entire kingdom. 

According to tradition Fez (“Fâs” in Arabic comes from “fas”, pickaxe, since according to tradition the nomadic Berber tribes gave this pickaxe to the sultan to trace the perimeter of the first walls.

Fez is the city that treasures the oldest, the best medina of all Morocco, the most imperial of the imperial cities, the oldest Moroccan capital, the one that treasures the best handicrafts of the whole kingdom, Fez is the heart of Morocco. These titles are enough to place it at the level it deserves, a level also recognized by the magnificent title of having its medina declared a cultural heritage by UNESCO.

Fez was founded in 808 when Morocco had just been converted to Islam by Idris II, sultan of the first Moroccan dynasty, the Idrisid dynasty. 

In the XIII century, it became again the Moroccan capital with the Merinids who endowed it with one of its signs of identity, the madrasas (Koranic schools), and finally in the XIX century. It became again the Moroccan capital until it was dethroned definitively in 1912 by the French general Lyautey during the protectorate for the benefit of Rabat.

The city is divided into two main parts, Fez el Bali (the old) and Fez el Jedid (the new). Fez el Bali is precisely the district of the Andalusians, wrongly called the Andalusians because at that time Andalusia did not yet exist, but al-Andalus. With the Christian conquest of the Muslim territory of the Iberian Peninsula, many Muslims were exiled from the current Spain and Portugal settling in that city and more specifically in the neighborhood with the same name that they founded. In this neighborhood is the famous mosque of the Andalusians.

In another nearby neighborhood that was formed by people coming from the current Tunisian city of Kairauan, the neighborhood of the same name, they founded the best building in the city the great mosque of Qaraouiyyin religious center but also of intellectual formation, the oldest in the West before all European universities, with a library with more than 30,000 books this mosque is the largest in Morocco. The mosque preserves a beautiful courtyard of ablutions which is directly inspired by the courtyard of the lions of the Alhambra.

Soon Fez became too small and had to be enlarged with new walls, madrasas, and souks, it was the Merinids in the 12th century who founded Fez el jadid (the new), and from the protectorate south of Fez el jadid grew the colonial city in the 20th century. Another event of which Fez can be proud is that it preserves the “marestan” (psychiatric hospital) Sidi Frej of the fourteenth century which is the oldest psychiatric hospital in the world, Fez also in the great handicraft center with the best craftsmen of the whole country with magnificent works in ceramics with its renowned blue enamel, its works in leather, brass, bronze, wood, the famous carpets, etc..

As expected contains important monuments, but the best of them all is its ancient medina, as the writer Juan Goytislo points out, is a real pleasure “Medinear” which means strolling through its alleys and souks, is worth seeing apart from the mosque Qaraouiyyin, the mosque of the Andalusians, the tombs of the Benimerí dynasty on a mound between olive trees of the XVI unfortunately in poor condition but with beautiful views over the city, Bab Gissa, Almohad gate of the XII, the justly famous Main Street (Talaa Kibera) the world-famous district of the tanners of skins, and where Fez especially stands out is in being a city with numerous madrasas (Koranic schools) all after the twelfth century and that continue the great Andalusian architectural tradition especially interesting is the madrasa Es Sahrij. 

Finally, architecturally Fez has a building considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO the “funduc” (inn in Spanish) the Nejjarin of the eighteenth century is a beautiful building housed on the first-floor space for burden and goods, and the upper floor the guest rooms.

Finally, every year takes place in its medina the justly recognized international festival of religious music with participants from all over the planet that shows their different musical traditions of spiritual roots.