Fes, Morocco

By Glen Bruels
This is part of a series called Morocco 2026
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We spent the last few days in Fez and the surrounding area. After spending time in the desert, coming back to the big city was a little bit of a shock, but there are so many gardens in the city and agricultural areas outside the city, that it doesn’t feel so intense (except for those ever present crazy Moroccan drivers). One pleasant surprise, however, is that motorbikes are not allowed in the Medina here, keeping things quieter and increasing personal safety and comfort! Of course part of the reason for that is that unlike Marrakech which is relatively flat, Fez is very hilly with lots of steps.

They say that Marrakech is the tourist capitol of Morocco, Rabat the political capitol, and Fez the spiritual capitol. While we haven’t been to Rabat yet, I can certainly agree with the characterization of Fez — its history and philosophy is certainly intertwined with its own unique brand of Islam. I should start by saying that I budgeted way too little time in Fez; we could easily have spent another few days delving into the history and architecture (next time!). Fez was actually founded in the 8th century as the first imperial city and we spent most of our time in the original Medina (Fes al-Bali), today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Islam places a high value on education, viewing the pursuit of knowledge as a mandatory spiritual act that bridges science and faith. Here there are ample evidences of both with the University of al-Qarawiyyin, originally founded as a mosque by Fatima al-Fihri in 857–859, and the Bou Inania Madrasa, the 14th century Islamic school (essentially prep schools for the university). What’s interesting about the university, is that it sought to bring the best knowledge, no matter the source. This included bringing in Christian and Jewish lecturers. Another amazing thing was that while students were only male, provisions were made for females to listen in through screens on the second floor. As a bit of a counterbalance to the academic side, religion in Fez at times came into conflict with academics. While Islamic from its inception (primarily Shi’a), Sufism came into conflict shortly thereafter. Sufism is a more mystical and peaceful expression of the faith that, at times, eschews science and engineering. In fact, one of its local proponents (Tariqa Tijaniyya) created his own set of practices (the Tijani Method) that is still practiced in the area today. Tijani is seen as somewhat of a saint and his mausoleum is in the Medina. Net-net, the impact of Sufism on Islam in Morocco has been significant and they practice a more gentle and happy form here. As with other cities, Fez’s Medina has a large number of souks with heavy emphasis on their areas of specialty (leather, ceramics, textiles, and brass). Noteworthy regarding leather, we visited the Chaouwara, their famous, centuries-old tannery. The use of the more eco-friendly vegetable tanning methods and time they take make their leathers soft and supple and are highly regarded in the world. They too are excellent rug makers, including their own unique Fez designs. As far as ceramics are concerned, they use their local gray clay and glazes colored with local plants and minerals for their pottery and intricate mosaics. We really didn’t look into the metalwork as that wasn’t really high on our agenda.

We started out the walking portion of our tour from our Riad in the Medina. Lots of interesting entryways around.
There are tons of motorbikes here too, but the good news is that because of all the hills/stairs, they aren’t allowed in the Medina.
khourchef
The infamous red mini taxis — the bane of our existence! The would run you over as much as look at you!
Our first stop was a tour through the Fez souk, starting with the fruit and veg.
These ladies were peeling something that looked like celery. It’s actually called khourchef and is used in a lot of famines. It’s really good!
Then we were onto the metal souk. Fez is famous for its work in brass and silver.
This was different; an artisan making combs out of bone.
Leather is another Fez specialty. This is the Chaouwara, the centuries-old tannery. It takes days of processing to deliver the hides to the leather artists that do the finish work. People work here their whole working lives. The last time we saw a tannery so large was in India.
The entrance to the mausoleum of Tijani, the man who shaped the Fez adaptation of Islam which is heavily influenced by Sufism. Our guide and we had some really interesting discussions on comparative religions and philosophy on this walk.
I like the juxtaposition of this shot. And those red hats are for Morocco’s soccer team — nothing else!
The woodwork here is amazing.
This is the entrance to the Qarawiyyin University, still in use but today more focused on religious and language studies.
Keeping the university safe from tourists!
And then we went to one of the carpet places in the souk…
It’s actually housed in one of the old Fez mansions. This is a view of the central courtyard.
The roof also provided a panoramic view of the city.
Decisions, decisions. Actually, Deb was looking at colors for something she was thinking of.
Then it was off to the Madrasah. In effect, this was a boarding school where promising students could come from outside the city to study the teachings of the Koran. After the university was built, it became somewhat of a prep school for it.
The interior decoration was stunning. It has been recently restored giving the local artisans to work on a historically significant project.
Looking up at the second floor — in this case to house the students.
In other madrasahs, the grates on the window could hide who was behind them (sometimes women and girls “auditing” classes.
Later that afternoon we left the Medina to head into the hills to see the ceramic artists — another thing Fez is famous for. They use a local gray clay with very little grog for their pottery/ tiles…
… and they create some amazingly complex mosaics, including giant fountains, etc.
Sadly, we ran out of time. We used the last of the day to drive through the 14th century Medina, including the Grand Palace…
… and then over to the forts (that today are museums) that overlook the city. There’s always next time!

Because our focus on the original 8th century Medina, we were only able to do a literal drive-by of the Fes el-Jdid, the “new” (14th century) medina, home to the Royal Palace (Dar el-Makhzen) and the Mellah (old Jewish quarter). That is a real shame and we hope to return at some point to do it right.

One last note, Ramadan is about to start here and one of the things that means here is no alcohol for 3 days before, during, and 3 days after. That has already altered our lifestyle and the rumor that this restriction only applies to Muslims and non-Muslims can buy alcohol has not yet proven to be the case. Good thing we didn’t do Dry January since we may be looking at dry February.

Now we are off to the old Roman city of Volubilis and one of the other imperial cities, Meknes.

This entry was posted in Africa, Morocco, Travel
Glen Bruels

I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.

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