Fez (or sometimes Fes) is one of Morocco’s oldest cities, having been founded in 789AD, and often called the country’s cultural capital. Ahead of its time, the finest artists and thinkers were drawn to the city from as far as Portugal and Tunisia, founding educational establishments including the University of al-Qarawiyyin, the oldest such institution in the world.
To house the growing population riads and dars, elegantly palatial homes generally in Moorish style, were constructed in the medina Old Town. They have become popular places to stay as well as to admire for their architecture. Meanwhile, the cities hammam bathhouses gave the world many of the spa treatments we seek out today, making them an unmissable attraction for anyone who enjoys massage.
No longer the political powerhouse it once was, Fez has been able to use its self-confident nature in other ways – impressing visitors with what remains the largest urban pedestrian zone in the world. What you’ll find instead of cars and the roar of engines is the steady plod and braying of donkeys hauling carts along ancient streets towards tanneries such as the Chouara Tannery, which has been preparing leather since the eleventh century.
Recognized as one of the largest and best-preserved towns in the Arab-Muslim world, thanks perhaps to its extensive fortifications, Fez is ideal for exploring on foot, giving interested visitors a chance to look down narrow alleyways of the medina and experience the unique atmosphere that pervades here.
But for a change of pace, be sure to explore the Ville Nouvelle, or New Town, too. Here, amid grand boulevards that contrast with the narrow streets of the medina, you’ll find many of the city’s most important nineteenth-century structures, uniting Fez’s ancient and modern parts.
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Casablanca / Chefchaouen / Essaouira / Marrakesh / Merzouga / Rabat / Tangier
