The Old Capital: Fez, Morocco

The Medina or Walled City of Fez, originally uploaded by papalars.

I finally returned from Morocco yesterday. Tired and a little sick. I plan to post a few stories over the next few days, explaining a bit about this fascinating country, and some of the places and people we met in our travels. First off, I want to tell you about Fez. Take out your map and locate this important city in North Africa. My history classes in the expansion of Western civilization jumped over this rather important town on the continent of Africa, that had important ties into Southern Spain as well as Europe. Let me tell you a little more, with the help of Wikipedia and some other research I did.

This picture features the walled city that sits in the center of old town Fez. The population of this medina is 300,000 inhabitants and is the world's largest traffic-free zone. No motor vehicles of any kind are allowed in this section of the city behind the wall. Although demoted from the position of Morocco’s capital city, there is little doubt that Morocco’s former capital, the city of Fez, remains one of the most important cities in the entire country. Fez was the capital of Morocco for over four centuries, and it still remains the cultural center of the country, as well as one of the most important religious centers. The city was founded in the late 8th century, and a large part of Fez remains a medieval city in design, a visual proof of the city’s history and culture.

Fez is intriguing; with its old buildings reflecting architecture most of the world forgot centuries ago, with winding narrow streets that do not allow for common automobiles. This means you will see throngs of people on foot, and the streets are full of donkeys and mules, just as they were hundreds of years ago. The city is the cutting edge of Moroccan art and culture, and was a hub of human civilization long before the Europeans knew anything about the Enlightenment.

A large part of the charm of Fez is that sense of a different time. While you will see all the evidence of modern cultural influence from blue jeans to boom boxes and satellite dishes, one cannot shake the sense of stepping into the past—from the narrow streets, to the buildings of old stone and wood, palaces and Islamic schools with elaborate entrances, to all the various sites that remind one of other times—ramparts, balconies, and courtyards all contained behind the walls that were once used for defense.

Many of the streets are virtual mazes of alleys and tunnels, and streets are made of cobblestone. The voices of people—from old men, to merchants, to children—envelope the city, and it’s not far off description to describe Fez as a giant human beehive. Fez is a city where the modern culture lives among buildings and streets that speak about a century’s worth of experience and history never forgotten.

The city was founded on opposite banks of the Fez River by Idris I in 789. Did you get that? That was nearly 1200 years ago. My ancestros were roaming the northern tundra of scandanavia and raiding the shores of Europe and the British Isles in those days. How about yours? During Yahya ibn Muhammad's rule the Kairouyine mosque, one of the oldest and largest in Africa, was built, and the associated University of Karueein was founded in 859. Arab emigration to Fes, mostly from al-Andalus in Southern Spain after a rebellion which took place in Cordoba in 818 and from Tunisia after another rebellion that took place in 824, gave the city a definite Arab character. The city was populated by Muslims from elsewhere in North Africa, the Middle East, Moriscos, as well as many Jews, who had their own quarter, or Mellah, in the city. It is believed that Fes was the largest city in the world from 1170 to 1180. It was the center of the Kingdom of Fez. Fes became the scientific and religious center, where both Muslims and Christians from Europe came to study. Many Muslim refugees came to Fes after the re-conquest of Spain in 1492. Fes became part of the Moroccan Empire in 1548. In 1579 the capture of Fez completed Ottoman conquests in Morocco that had begun under Süleyman the Magnificent. Despite the traditional character of most of the city, there is also a modern section, the Ville Nouvelle, or "New City", which is a bustling commercial center. The popularity of the city has increased since the King of Morocco took a Fassi computer engineer, Salma Bennani, as his wife.

Today in Fez you can find many of our focus friends, a McDonald's that servers Halal meat and many who give witness to Jesus in their everyday lives.