|
Fez has a fascinating medina, which is divided into old Fez (Fes el Bali) and new Fez (Fes el Djedid). Fes el Djedid was built by the Marinides in only three years during the 13th century and most of the area was occupied by the royal palace, one of the most complex and sumptuous palaces in Morocco surrounded by beautiful gardens; unfortunately this palace can only be admired externally as after the 1970s’ access to it has been strictly reserved to special guests. It is Fes el Bali the true tourist attraction in Fez, with all the monuments, the mosques, the medersas (old Koran schools), the souks, the dye pits and the tanneries there is plenty to keep you occupied for days. There are guides available offering guided tours of the Fes el Bali, but the best way is to wander around the winding narrow streets, explore the multitude of colourful souks and the monuments will suddenly pop out in front of your eyes. The tanneries, where leather has been dyed for centuries using the manual labor of men who stomp on the leather inside clay basins full of dye, are an impressive sight although the powerful smell requires a strong stomach.
 Kairaouine Mosque
Before the Hassan II Mosque of Casablanca the Kairaouine Mosque was the biggest in Morocco, today it remains the most important religious building in Morocco and together with Al Azhar Mosque in Cairo is the World’s oldest university. It has two minarets. The main tower is covered by a white cupola, typical of Tunisian architecture, and the smaller one is the Borj en Naffara (the trumpeter tower) from where the beginning and end of Ramadam are announced.
The Borj Nord fortress was built at the end of the XVI by the Saadian Dynasty to control the Fassis rather than defend them; today the fortress houses a spectacular Arms Museum and the views over the city are certainly worth the climb.
The medersas, old student houses, are very frequent in Fez and although their use almost completely disappeared at the end of the Middle Ages, the ones in Fez continued to operate until the 1950s’. Among the many medersas the best examples are the Bou Inania Medersa and the Attarin Medersa, which is smaller than the first but is a stunning example of the earlier Marinide period.
|
