Fez

We stayed at the Diamante Vert Campsite in Fez, where we weathered a rainy and grey day, like many other campers. But the following day, it was sunny again, and we took a taxi to explore the spiritual and cultural capital of Morocco.

Bab Boujeloud

We started at the Bab Boujeloud, the Blue Gate, and wandered through the Medina on our own.

Our first sight was the Madrasa Bou Inania, a fine example of historic Moroccan architecture. A Madrasa is a type of institution which originated in northeastern Iran by the early 11th century and was progressively adopted further west. These establishments served to train Islamic scholars, particularly in Islamic law and jurisprudence. We could visit the inner courtyard and got a view into the praying room.

We continued our way through the Medina, when we were invited into a weaving shop. It wasn’t planned, but we left with 2 jackets as a nice souvenir.

Fine cloth getting woven by hand

We found the Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts, housed in a renovated Funduq, a historic caravanserai or traditional inn. The building was designed for the merchants, traders, and visitors to the city of Fez and provided a storage place. This funduq was commissioned by the magistrate ‘Adiyil in 1711.

View from the roof terrace
Mausoleum of Moulay Idriss II
Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque – not open to non-believers

Finally, we found our way through the narrow alleys to the Al-Attarine Madrasa, near the Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque. It was built by the Marinid Sultan Uthman II Abu Said in 1323-5. The madrasa takes its name from the Souk al-Attarine, the spice and perfume market. It is considered one of the highest achievements of Marinid architecture due to its rich and harmonious decoration and its efficient use of limited space.

Al-Attarine Madrasa
Mosque entrance
A picture of the tanneries of Fez told us we were close to our destination
Tannery Chouara

In the end, we visited 2 different tanneries. The first one near the funduq was smaller, the Chouara tannery was bigger and nicer. For the view, we were invited onto the roof terrace of an adjacent house, which is of course also a huge leather store. This way we could admire the end product after we had watched the proceedings at the tannery.

While walking through the Medina, we could watch many trades, for example did we find a shop where wood panels were painted.

For a late lunch, we had chosen a restaurant called the Ruined Garden, which sounded interesting. As to be expected, it was a beautiful garden between ruins and the food was excellent.

Restaurant the Ruined Garden

Tired but happy, we made our way back to the blue gate and took a little red taxi back home.

Tomorrow we will leave Fez and continue south – more next!

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