Fes

Fes فاس Fās
The city stretching into the distance, 2001
Fes Location in Morocco
Coordinates:
Country	Morocco
Region	Fès-Boulemane
Elevation[1]	1,259 ft (383.7 m)
Population (2008)
- Total	1,008,782

The Blue Gate of Fes.

Leather tanning in Fes

Fes or Fez (Arabic: فاس‎ [Fās], French: Fès) is the third largest city in Morocco —after Casablanca and Rabat— with a population of just over one million. It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region.

Fes, a former capital, is one of the country's four "imperial cities," the others being Rabat, Marrakech and Meknes. It comprises three distinct parts, Fes el Bali (the old, walled city), Fes-Jdid (new Fes, home of the Mellah) and the Ville Nouvelle (the French-created, newest section of Fes).

Fes el Bali is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its medina, the larger of the two medinas of Fes, is believed to be the world's largest contiguous car-free urban area. The University of Al-Karaouine, founded in AD 859, is the oldest continuously functioning madrasah in the world.

History

Some of the ancient Jewish population of Fes, pictured in about 1900.

The city was founded on a bank of the Fez River by Idris I in 789, founder of the Idrisid dynasty, the works being continued on the opposite bank by his son Idris II (808).^[2].

Arab emigration to Fes, including 800 Al-Andalusian families expelled after a rebellion which took place in Córdoba in 817–818, and other 2,000 families banned from Kairouan (modern 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.^[3] During Yahya ibn Muhammad's rule the Kairouyine mosque, one of the oldest and largest in Africa, was built, together with the associated University of Al-Karaouine was founded (859).^[4]

After Ali ibn Umar (Ali II) came to power, the Berber tribes of Madyuna, Gayatha and Miknasa, which were Sufrite Kharijites, formed a common front against the Idrisid and, after defeating Ali's armies, occupied Fes. They were driven out of the city by Yahya ibn Al-Qassim, who declared himself Ali's successor.^[5]

The city was populated by Muslims from elsewhere in North Africa, the Middle East, Moriscos (especially after the Spanish conquest of Granada in 1492), as well as many Jews, who had their own quarter, or Mellah, in the city. The two halves of Fes were united in 1069, after the destruction of the wall dividing them. Although losing its capital status to Marrakech and Tlemcen under the Almoravids, Fes became the scientific and religious center, where both Muslims and Christians from Europe came to study. In 1250 it regained its capitals status under the Marinid dynasty.

In the Early Modern Age, the Ottoman Empire neared to Fes after the conquest of Oujda in the 16th century. In 1554 the Wattasids Dynasty took Fes with the support of the Turks, and the city became a vassal of the Ottomans, who finally conquered it in 1579 under sulat Murad III.^[6] The Ottoman power in the North Africa concentrated itself more on the threats posed by Habsburg Spain and the Portuguese Kingdom. As a result, Fes was not under pressure by the Ottoman rulers. The conquest of Fes was the catalyst for the move of the capital city of the Saadi Dynasty to Marrakech City. At the beginning of the 17th century the town returned under Morocco with Ahmad al Mansur.^[7]

After the fall of the Saadi Dynasty (1649), Fes was a major trading post of the Barbary Coast of North Africa. Until the 19th century it was the only source of Fez hats (also known as the tarboosh), before they began to be manufactured in France and Turkey; originally, the dye for the hats came from a berry that was grown outside the city, known as the Turkish "kızılcık" or Greek "akenia" (Cornus mascula). Fes was also the end of a north-south gold trading route from Timbuktu. Fes was also a prime manufacturing location for leather goods such as the Adarga.

It became independent in 1790, under the leadership of Yazid (1790–1792), and later, of Abu´r-Rabi Sulayman, who fell however to Morocco in 1795. In 1819–1821 Fes took part in the rebellion led by Ibrahim ibn Yazid, as well as to the 1832 rebellion, led by Muhammad ibn Tayyib.

Fes was again the capital of Morocco until 1912, when most of Morocco came under French control and Rabat was chosen as 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 (in 1465, there was large massacre of Jews by Arab riots.^[8] ), and the economy has stagnated. 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 computer engineer from Fes, Salma Bennani, as his wife.

Climate

Located along the Atlas Mountains, Fes has a seasonal climate, shifting from cool in winter to hot days in the summer months of July–September. The nights are always cool (or colder in winter), with daytime temperatures generally rising about +9~14 C° (+15~26 F°) every day. The winter highs typically reach only 16 °C (61 °F) in December–January (see weather-table below).

Main sights

Mule moving goods in the car-free Medina in Fes.

Fes is becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination and many non-Moroccans are now restoring traditional houses (riads and dars) 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 al-Magana
• Aben Danan Synagogue

Transport

The city is served by Saïss Airport. It also has an ONCF train station which goes east to Oujda and west to Tanger and Casablanca.^[9]

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Fes is twinned with:

• Montpellier, France, since 1961
• Strasbourg, France, since 1961
• Florence, Italy, since 1961)
• Kairouan, Tunisia, since 1965
• Saint Louis, Senegal, since 1979
• Al Quds (Palestinian National Authority), since 1982^[10]
• Coimbra, Portugal^[11]
• Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, since 2003
• Lahore, Pakistan
• Suwon, South Korea, since 2003
• İzmir, Turkey, since 1995^[12]
• Puebla, Mexico

Partnerships

• Kraków in Poland (since 1985)^[13]

Notes

See also

• Treaty of Fez
• Book by Roger Le Tourneau (English translation by Besse Clement), Fez in the Age of the Marinides, Oklahoma University, editions 1961 and 1974 (latter ISBN 0806111984).
• Article by Julian Vigo. "The Renovation of Fes’ medina qdima and the (re)Creation of the Traditional", Writing the City, Transforming the City, New Delhi: Katha, edition 2006.

External links

• Fes travel guide from Wikitravel
• Fez City Fez Portal
• complexe culturel de fes complexe culturel de fes, Morocco
• Fes City of Islam
• The portal of Fès
• In Search of the Sacred at the Fez Festival, Part 1 An in depth review of the Fez Festival Of World Sacred Music.
• In Search of the Sacred at the Fez Festival, Part 2
• Pictures and videos from Fes and Morocco
• The Fes Festival: Sacred Music From Around The World – audio report by NPR

World Heritage Sites in Morocco Northern Medina of Fes el Bali  · Medina of Tétouan (formerly known as Titawin) Archaeological Site of Volubilis · Historic City of Meknes · Central Medina of Essaouira (formerly Mogador) · Medina of Marrakech · Portuguese City of Mazagan (El Jadida) Southern Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou

Prefectures and provinces of Morocco Prefectures Agadir-Ida Ou Tanane · Casablanca · Fahs-Anjra · Fès-Dar-Dbibegh · Inezgane-Aït Melloul · Marrakech · Meknès-El Menzeh · Mohammédia · Oujda-Angad · Rabat · Salé · Skhirat-Témara · Tangier-Assilah Provinces Al Haouz · Al Hoceïma · Aousserd · Assa-Zag · Azilal · Ben Slimane · Béni-Mellal · Berkane · Boujdour · Boulemane · Chefchaouen · Chichaoua · Chtouka Aït Baha · El Hajeb · El Jadida · El Kelaa des Sraghna · Errachidia · Es Semara · Essaouira · Figuig · Guelmim · Ifrane · Jerada · Kénitra · Khémisset · Khénifra · Khouribg · Laâyoune · Larache · Médiouna · Moulay Yacoub · Nador · Nouaceur · Ouarzazate · Oued Eddahab · Safi · Sefrou · Settat · Sidi Kacem · Tan-Tan · Taounate · Taourirt · Taroudant · Tata · Taza · Tétouan · Tiznit · Zagora