Fes-Meknes
Fes
The oldest medina in the world, and still entirely car-free.
- Best time to visit
- March to May and September to November. The medina holds summer heat.
- Ideal for
- History, crafts, architecture, food, slow city travel
Introduction
Fes was founded at the end of the eighth century and became Morocco's religious and intellectual capital. Fes el-Bali, its older walled medina, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is usually described as the largest car-free urban area in the world.
It is a working city, not a preserved one. Mules still carry goods through the lanes because nothing else fits. Tanners still dye leather in stone pits using a method nine centuries old. Students still study at Al Quaraouiyine, founded in 859 and recognised as the oldest continuously operating degree-granting university in the world.
Why visit
- 01
Nowhere else in the world offers a medieval city of this scale still functioning as a city.
- 02
The madrasa interiors — carved cedar, cut plaster, zellige — are among the finest craftsmanship anywhere in the Islamic world.
- 03
The crafts are living trades, not demonstrations: brass, weaving, tanning, ceramics and zellige all still worked by hand.
Things to see
- Fes el-Bali, the medieval medina
- The Al Quaraouiyine mosque and university
- The Bou Inania and Al Attarine madrasas
- The Chouara tanneries from a leather terrace
- Bab Boujloud, the blue gate
- The Nejjarine fondouk and woodwork museum
- The Merenid tombs, for the view over the city
Things to do
- Take a licensed guide for your first day in the medina
- Watch the tanners at work from a rooftop
- Visit brass, weaving and ceramic workshops
- Eat pastilla and Fassi couscous
- See zellige tiles cut by hand at Ain Nokbi
- Day trip to Volubilis, Moulay Idriss and Meknes
Local experiences
- Mint held to your nose on a tannery terrace
- Thirty brass hammers ringing in Place Seffarine
- A madrasa courtyard empty at opening time
- Bread carried to the neighbourhood oven at dusk
Food
Food
Fassi cooking is the most refined in Morocco. Pastilla — pigeon or chicken in layered pastry with almonds, cinnamon and sugar — is the signature dish. Couscous is served on Fridays, and the city is known for its preserved lemons, its sweet-savoury tagines, and pastries made with honey and orange blossom.
Culture
Culture
Fes is Morocco's scholarly city and takes that seriously. Al Quaraouiyine was founded by a woman, Fatima al-Fihri, in 859, and its library holds manuscripts a thousand years old. Andalusian musical traditions brought by refugees from Spain are still performed here, and the guilds that organise the crafts have run in some cases for centuries.
Best highlights
- 01
The Chouara tanneries
- 02
Bou Inania Madrasa
- 03
Getting lost in Fes el-Bali
- 04
Pastilla
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