Fez - City of Morocco

Fes or Fez is the fourth largest city in Morocco, after Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakech with a population of 946,815. It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region.

Fes is one of the four so-called "imperial cities". It is separated into three parts, Fes el Bali, Fes-Jdid and the Ville Nouvelle. The Medina of Fes el Bali, the larger of the two medinas of Fes, is believed to be the largest contiguous car-free urban area in the world. Fes el Bali is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The University of Al-Karaouine was founded in 859 A.D. and is the oldest continuous operating university in the world.

The city was founded on opposite banks of the Fez River by Idris I in 789 and his son Idris II continued the work in 810. The first was the founder of the Idrisid dynasty, his son was born after he was assassinated. During Yahya ibn Muhammad's rule the Kairouyine mosque, one of the oldest and largest in Africa, was built, and the associated University of Al-Karaouine was founded in 859. Arab emigration to Fes, mostly from Al-Andalus after a rebellion which took place in Córdoba in 818 and from Tunisia after another rebellion that took place in 824, gave the city a definite Arab character. 'Adwat Al-Andalus and 'Adwat al-Qarawiyyin, the two main quarters of Fes, were called respectively after the two waves of Arab immigrants to the new city. After Ali ibn Umar came to power, the tribes of Madyuna, Gayatha and Miknasa, which were Sufrite Kharijites, formed a common front against the Idrisid and defeated Ali's armies and occupied Fes. Yahya ibn Al-Qassim, drove the Sufrites out of the city and declared himself Ali's successor.

Fez was a prime manufacturing location for leather goods such as the Adarga.

Fes has been the capital of Morocco several times in the past, the last of which ended in 1912, when most of Morocco came under French control and Rabat was chosen to be the capital of the new colony, a status retained even when Morocco achieved independence in 1956. While many of the original inhabitants of Fes have since emigrated, the Jewish quarter has been emptied of its Jewish population and the economy has stagnated, Fes is perhaps the most interesting and picturesque of the Imperial Cities of Morocco. 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.

Fes is becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination and many non-Moroccans are now restoring traditional houses as second homes in the Fes medina. The most important monuments in the city are:

Bou Inania Madrasa
Al-Attarine Madrasa
University of Al-Karaouine
Zaouia Moulay Idriss II
Dar Batha
Aben Danan Synagogue