Fez, the City, Not the Hat

Fez was founded in the 8-9th centuries CE, under Idrisid rule. It initially consisted of two autonomous and competing settlements. Successive waves of mainly Arab immigrants from Ifriqiya (Tunisia) and Al-Andalus (Spain/Portugal) brought with them the Arab culture to the nascent city in the 9th century. After the downfall of the Idrisid dynasty, other empires came and went until the 11th century when the Almoravid Sultan Yusuf bin Tashfin united the two settlements into what is today's Fez el-Bali quarter. Under Almoravid rule, the city gained a reputation for religious scholarship and mercantile activity.

The medina of Fez was listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 (first city in Morocco to be listed) and is believed to be one of the world's largest urban pedestrian zones (car-free areas). Everything in the city is brought in via hand cart, foot, or donkey. The Medina is considered to be one of the most extensive and best preserved cities in the Arab-Muslim world. Within the tiny alleyways (some where only a sliver of light pierces the floor and others wide enough for a donkey and its burden) there are a plethora of gardens, Riads, madrassas, hammans, places of worship, and mausoleums. Fez is considered the spiritual and cultural capital of Morocco.

The Medina of Fez is also the home of the University of Al-Qarawiyyin (a madrassa), which was founded in 857 and is considered by some to be the oldest continuously functioning institute of higher education in the world. It also has Chouara Tannery, which was founded in the 11th century and is one of the oldest tanneries in the world. Within the heart of the Medina, sits the Zawiya (shrine and religious complex) of Moulay Idris II. The zawiya is dedicated to and contains the tomb of Idris II, who is considered the main founder of the city of Fez. Due to Covid, the pilgrims that come to pay their respects can’t go inside, so they buy prayer candles and burn them around the exterior.

We had a nice long tour of Fez’s south quarter of the Medina (which still took hours to wander and contained a little bit of everything). We started outside the Kasbah walls, which are located next to the Mellah (Jewish quarter). “Mellah” translates to salt or salt area Arabic and became synonymous with the Jews, thus its being used as the name for the Jewish Quarter. Back in the day, salt was a precious commodity, of which the Jews were sellers. Being the sellers of such a commodity, made them very valuable and held in high esteem. This is also where the saying “Worth your salt” (to be good at one’s job or worthy/worthwhile) came from.

From the Mellah, we ventured further into the tight quarters of some of the 40 thousand twisty alleyways that make up the labyrinth of the Medina. Luckily our guide was able to expertly navigate us or it might have been a much longer day. The Fez Medina has a little bit of everything and we were shown collectives or workshops for mosaic making, tanneries for leatherworks, agave silk production, woodwork, metal work, and tailors. Intrepid tours prides itself on being more organic and authentic and therefore has partnered with many of the original shops or shops that still teach their trades using the techniques that have been passed down generation to generation. So while there are numerous shops within the Medina, in addition to the peddlers that walk up to you, we were assured that all of the shops we visited on the tour were authentic and locally sourced with no extra chemicals or plastics from China (I guess Chinese knockoffs are prevalent here as much as they are in the rest of the world). Being guided around each industry shop and seeing the time and labor needed to make all the goods, it’s definitely easier to see the cost equivalency. 

While I would have loved to get lost and meander on my own for a bit, the tour was nice in that it hit many of the highlights of the Medina, while our guide explained what different buildings were and who particular tombs belonged to. Having a guide also allowed me to find random streets foods I’d heard about but wanted to make sure I could obtain. I got a cup of riab; the yogurt drink I’d been introduced to in Tangier by our unofficial self appointed tour guide, and tried some baklava-adjacent dessert (which the guide was quick to point out isn’t native to Morocco).

We did have a mini rebellion at lunch when our party of five was brought to a nice “tourist” restaurant for lunch and after being sat and perusing the menu, we all conferred and decided that we were neither hungry enough nor wanting to pay the prices at the restaurant, so we got up to leave. This prompted the waiter to freak out and call for our guide: “your people are fleeing, what do I do?” (at least that’s the interpretation we got from the shouting to the upper level and then our guide appearing to ask what was the matter). Once we explained we were just looking for a snack, we were released for an hour on our own reconnoissance.

The effort to find a small snack shop during afternoon prayer lead to half a dozen or more trips across the same 50m stretch of road, a dozen helpful (but not so much) locals, a new unofficial student guide, a tour leader from a different Intrepid tour confused as to why we were unchaperoned, a couple people directing us back to the restaurant we had just fled, and eventually to a juice shop; where the owner kindly made some pineapple, orange, and nectarine juice for the five of us. So an hour later, our guide found us less than 200 yards from where he last saw us (and probably thought we were all crazy). 

I was greatly amused by the entire incident. One thing I don’t like about tour groups is that they always try to corral you to particular restaurants that are always over inflated and not always what you want to eat or where you want to be. A little rebellion to run way from these places adds a bit of fun.

On the way back to our hotel, we spotted a Carrefour and in keeping with tradition, we asked to be let out at the mega market. Em and I have many weird travel quirks (e.g., eat Chinese food, pizza, and ice cream in every country, etc.) and visiting (or at least finding Carrefour) is one of them. During our first long trip in 2006, the store was like a god send with its modern westernized supermarket accruements and AC after three weeks in the boiling hot Egyptian desert and packaged cookies as a main food staple. Now we pay tribute…in today’s case, by going there for some conditioner since Em’s was no longer useable. We also introduced Brian and Nathan to this wonder. After gathering some supplies and then realizing it was located in a mall that we girls were going to wander, they peaced out back to the hotel.

Later in the evening, I finally got to try Moroccan tacos. They are not the same as Tex-Mex tacos or South American tacos, and I probably won’t try them again. They’re essentially a chicken, cheese, French fries, and thousand island dressing, wrapped in a pita that is flattened on a panini press. According to Khalid, tacos and other “snack” foods (shawarma, pizza, fries, pasta, fries, etc.) are relatively new to the culture. Before everyone really ate at home and rarely went to restaurants. With the advent of smartphones, western ideas are becoming more prevalent (as well as obesity and other health problems). On behalf of the fatter western world, sorry.