Connecting African Culture Through the Seas
The Amazing Journey of Bill Pinkney Imagine leaving your life and the familiar touch of soil beneath your feet to sail across treacherous seas around the globe with only a …
Life today still goes on in Fez much the way it did 1,300 years ago; the city is one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world, and has the best-preserved medina in the Arab world.
With 9,000 streets and 40,000 dead ends, the fact that you will lose your way in the medina (which gives Fez its moniker of “the Mecca of the west”) is a foregone conclusion. Two of the best places to go are the Andalusian Quarter by the Bab Jdid and the R’Cif Market. The Quarter is a relatively quiet, residential part of the medina that has a tranquil feeling which offers a hearty dose of local life. The market, the biggest in the city, is full of vendors selling vegetables, spices, eggs, and glistening baskets of olives. This “Mecca of the West” and is famous for its thriving medina.
Dazzling artistic flair, stunning architecture, and fiery festivals have also given Fez the title of “cultural capital of Morocco” (though residents of Marrakech may take issue with that). Boasting museums, tanneries, artisanal craftsmen, art galleries, and creative cuisine in numerous notable restaurants, culture vultures flock here more than any other city in North Africa.
The tanneries are perhaps the most obvious evidence of Fez’s living history. Artisans have been fashioning leather out of animal skins using the same stinky method (pigeon poop is a major ingredient) for seven centuries.
And the architecture also provides constant pointers to the past, from the 18th-century mosque of Sidi Ahmed Tijani, to the Palais el Mokri, to the city’s countless traditional riads. Riads are one of the most popular accommodation options in Fez, and have proliferated throughout the city over the last few years. But if staying in a riad isn’t your thing, Fez has plenty of luxury and boutique hotels to choose from, too.
Fez is also the gateway to some fantastic excursions that can take you even further into Morocco’s storied past and natural bounty. The Roman ruins at Volubilis provide one of the best examples of a large Roman colonial town on the outside of the empire, while Azrou offer a glimpse into the Berber way of life. Ouzoud falls, which is slightly further afield, is an oasis of watery tranquility in the Atlas mountains.
SAFETY: Fez is slightly more conservative than more modern cities like Marrakech or Casablanca, so female travelers would be wise to cover their shoulders and legs in public areas. Violent crime in the city is relatively low, but tourists should avoid walking alone at night through the medina.
The Amazing Journey of Bill Pinkney Imagine leaving your life and the familiar touch of soil beneath your feet to sail across treacherous seas around the globe with only a …
“Fez is like a living museum,” an acquaintance tells me over dinner on my final night in the historic city. She’s hardly exaggerating — every cobbled lane, ancient rampart, and …