Medieval City of Fes

(We have added a short paragraph at the end of yesterday’s post, and about 8-9 photos, since each day has a limited number of photos on this app, and Fes has a lot of interesting things to share!)

The medina (old city) of Fes was founded in 808. There are several districts of varying age: what they call the old city (9th century), the “new city” (11th century) and the modern urban Ville Nouvelle area founded during the French colonial era, beginning in 1912. The old city is completely car-free (although there are donkeys and hand carts to move goods around).

In the morning, we walked out to where our bus could meet us, and drove around to a few sights accessible by car, beginning with the 195-acre Royal Palace (just the outside). There are 12 royal palaces in Morocco, and the king uses most of them for various occasions.

We also visited a ceramics factory, which used to use olive-wood fired kilns, but now are fueled by natural gas. Otherwise, their techniques are traditional and completely hand-made with natural glazes.
Mosaic tiles are made in 350 shapes, all hand-hammered/chiseled. It was fascinating to watch them at work.

We also visited the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, founded in 859, which is recognized by UNESCO as the oldest existing degree-granting university.

Finally, we took a long, slow walk through the winding pathways of the 9th century part of the city, with so many food stalls and small manufacturing cubbyholes —one man and a sewing machine, copper workers, woodworking, leather and yarn dyeing. The Moroccan weavers commonly use yarn made from agave strands (called cactus silk). It is luminescent like silk, and very soft, yet durable.

Speaking of food, all our meals have been so tasty—seasonings of cumin, cinnamon, cloves, caramelized onions, garlic and herbs. And always mint tea after our meals.Read more