The medina of Fez is best known for its status as a spiritual city.

There is a lot to say about the spiritual capital of the Kingdom of Morocco and I have spelled it out at length in my previous articles dedicated to the spiritual visit, the mosques and the Karaouiyine. Here I would like to focus on the secular visits in Fez which are often neglected.

In fact, In this city built at random of slopes, water streams, and circumstances, mosque doors open on streets full of fantasy.

Unlike the Marrakech medina completely dedicated to tourism, the Fez medina is an inhabited city that has not been emptied of its inhabitants. In the medina of Fez, life goes slow motion, lulled by prayer times, as it used to be several centuries ago.
Fez is the archetype of “slow travel” and “let go”.

THE TOMBS OF THE MERINIDS, ONE OF THE MOST STRIVING VISITS IN FES

The Mérinides necropolis hosts the remains of the last sultans of the Mérinides dynasty.
They are not to be visited for the tombs themselves. Besides, there is very little left. However, the most passionates, will still be able to glimpse the splendor of the tombs of yesteryear.
In fact, the tombs of the Merenids, are a must go, for the panorama they offer over the medina of Fez and the surrounding area. If you are brave, it is worth climbing up the hill by foot.
At nightfall, the medina appears like a cradle of tiered terraces, where a minaret points here and there. Sometimes shrouded in rose or drowned in mist.

DISCOVERING THE FUNDUQS

In the 13th century, the funduqs or caravanserai served as hotels for merchants and visiting pilgrims. Travelers ate there after an often, exhausting journey. Horses and camels, on the other hand, rested there before resuming their trips the following day.
On the one hand, the single bedrooms upstairs offered men a well-deserved rest. On the other hand, the central courtyard accommodated the horses that were attached to it. Finally, the premises, distributed on the ground floor around the central courtyard, were used as storage space for goods.

Cour of a recently renovated Fondouk
Court of a recently renovated Funduq

A few decades ago, all kinds of bazaars were established in these old dilapidated fondouks. Then, more recently, the government decided to modernize these historic courtyards and modify their layout. They have now become hotspots for refined craftsmanship and spaces dedicated to shopping.

The stalls at Funduq Ka’at Smen, a long Tala’a Kebira, sell smen (rancid butter), olive oil, khlia (a traditional preparation of dried meat), honey and argan oil, used in natural cosmetics.
Further down, Funduq Tazi is dedicated to leather. You can shop leather goods there, but also attend workshops where leather is stretched over ceramic drums.

Finally, to meet the expectations of residents and visitors, new services have also been added. Thus, you can now find small restaurants in a very pleasant bohemian style.

VISIT THE CRAFTSMEN

Nejjarine Square

The Fondouk Nejjarine occupies the entire width of the square of the same name. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Dating back to the18th century, it was restored in the 90’s and now houses the Wood Museum. The building rightly honors the art of woodcraftship. The moucharabieh balconies are magnificent and the fragrance of cedar is stricking. In addition, it offers a permanent exhibition of carpentry pieces and tools dating back to the 14th century.
As for the square, it has benefited from a complete restoration. The facades are nicely crafted, and the bazars around sell nice quality products. For my part, I must admit my very particular crush on the antique dealer which adjoins the passage to the Zaouia Moulay Idriss. He not cheap, but most of his pieces are genuine antics.
Finally, the fountain is worth a detour. It is the most beautiful fountain in the whole medina. Indeed, the work is particularly refined. Its zelliges patterns and sculpted plaster corbels have the particularity of having the delicacy traditionally reserved for mosque fountains. This is the reason why the Nejjarine fountain is often the subject of a must-have souvenir photo.

Cauldron maker at Seffarine Square - Fez - Morocco
Cauldron maker at Seffarine Square – Fez – Morocco

Seffarine Square, one of the visits in Fez to witness craftswork

Seffarine Square is opposite the University of the Karaouiyine.
It is the noisiest place in the medina. Brass workers spend their day striking pieces of copper which they transform into, frying pans, basins, and cauldrons.
If the place has undergone changes, mainly under the French protectorate, its existence dates back to the Middle Ages. In fact, Léon The African, attests to the presence of boilermakers, in his notes dating back to the 16th century.
As far as I’m concerned, I have always wondered about the choice of this place, opposite the Karaouiyine university center, to host a craft industry providing such noise pollution.

THE SOUKS OF FES

Fez, an historical trading centre

Fez has been a trading centre for more than a thousand years.

It could well be argued that the means of transport by which the traders and customers arrive here have substantially changed, yet business in the medina of Fez is run as before.

Much of the production, still happens in the medina, although Chinese products have, unfortunately, made their entry some years ago.
Today, as before, souks are clusters of stalls, bazaars and workshops where products of a similar kind are sold and often made. Need a pair of leather shoes or a bag? Head for one of the tanners’ souks. An ottoman? A teapot? Spices? There are souks for each of these and much more.

One of the most exciting visits in Fez consists in shopping and getting lost in the alley maze.

The souks of Fez, a well organized business

The medina of Fez is organized in districts, each dedicated to a specific craft.

Potteries and silk thread in the Souk in Fez - Morocco
Potteries and silk thread in the Souk of Fez – Morocco


The district around the Karaouiyine mosque is center to artisanal brass workers and textile activities. On the other hand, Moulay Idriss is known for its bazars selling perfumes and candles. Carpenters exercise their art around Nejjarine square, while the pottery workers have set up their quarters further down in Bab Ftouh. In fact, a few years ago, from the rooftops of the riads, clouds of black smoke could be seen rising in the distance, above the wood-fired ovens of Bab Ftouh. Yet for sustainability reason things have changes in the last 7 years and the potters ovens are now no longer fired with wood.
Finally, at both ends of the medina, Rcif and Bab Boujloud, you will find well established food souks.

l'étal du vendeur d'olive - Médina de Fès - Maroc
Olive stall in the Souk of Rcif – Medina of Fez – Morocco


The architecture of the buildings in the medina has always highlighted this know-how and craftsmanship. Mosques and madrasahs, of course, but also fondouks and of course the palaces of the nobility and the “Fassie” wealthy merchants.

ABANDONED PALACES, ONE OF MY FAVOURITE VISITS IN FEZ

Hidden behind the pink walls along the numerous alleyways of the medina, palaces and riads, are the best place to enjoy morocco’s craftmanship.
Once home to Viziers, Cadis, Pashas or wealthy merchants, these Palaces are still private properties, today. Their heirs have since long turned away from these former family homes, leaving them to the ravages of time. This is how a thousand of magnificent riads and palaces remain forgotten and hidden in the maze of the alleyways of Fez.
The stark and austere facades along the medina streets keep their secrets. Nothing suggests that, perhaps, behind one of these disproportionate walls stands a gem. But if by chance the door opens, inside, once you have passed through the doors and corridors, you may well be dazzled by a profusion of colors, shapes and materials.
Follow me at the discovery of a few of these emblematic palaces, that are, unfortunately, too rarely subject to visit.