Morocco Guide
Meknes, Fes and the Middle Atlas
Fes (Fez)
The most ancient of the Imperial capitals and the most complete medieval city of the Arab world, FES stimulates all the senses: a barrage of haunting and beautiful sounds, infinite visual details and unfiltered odours. It has the French-built Ville Nouvelle of other Moroccan cities – familiar and modern in looks and urban life – but a quarter or so of Fes's 800,000 inhabitants continue to live in the extraordinary Medina-city of Fes el Bali, which owes little to the West besides electricity and tourists. More than any other city in Morocco, the old town seems suspended in time somewhere between the Middle Ages and the modern world.
With its mosques, medersas and fondouks, combined with a mile-long labyrinth of souks, there are enough sights in Fes el Bali to fill three or four days just trying to locate them. Even then, you're unlikely to stumble across some except by chance or the whim of a guide. In this – the apparently wilful secretiveness – lies part of Fes's fascination. However, the Medina is not a dangerous place despite what some hustlers say, and there's always someone around to ask for directions or to lead you towards a landmark: Bab Boujeloud, Talâa Kebira, the Kairaouine Mosque, Bab er R'cif or Bab Ftouh, for example. The flow of life eases considerably on Friday, when much of the Medina takes a day off and crowds thin.
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