Fez, Morocco

Fez فاس Fès / Fas / ⴼⴰⵙ
View of the medina (old city) of Fez
Flag
Fez Location in Morocco
Coordinates: 34°2′N 5°0′W / 34.033°N 5.000°W / 34.033; -5.000Coordinates: 34°2′N 5°0′W / 34.033°N 5.000°W / 34.033; -5.000
Country	Morocco
Region	Fès-Meknès
Founded	789
Founded by	Idrisid dynasty
Government
• Mayor	Idriss Azami Al Idrissi
• Governor	Mohamed Rerhabi
Elevation[1]	1,350 ft (410 m)
Population (2014)[2]
• Total	1,112,072
• Rank	2nd in Morocco
Racial makeup
• Arabs	53.6%
• Berbers	32.7%
• Moriscos	10.2%
• Others	3.5%
Website	www.fes-city.com

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Medina of Fez
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iii, iv
Reference	170
UNESCO region	Arab States
Inscription history
Inscription	1981 (5th Session)

Leather tanning in Fez

Panoramic view of the Old Medina

View of the old medina of Fez

Fez (French: Fès; Arabic: فاس‎; Berber: Fas, ⴼⴰⵙ) is the second largest city of Morocco, with a population of 1.1 million (2014).

Fez was the capital of modern Morocco until 1925, and is now the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. The city has two old medina quarters, the larger of which is Fes el Bali. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is believed to be one of the world's largest car-free urban areas.^[3] University of al-Qarawiyyin, founded in 859, is the oldest continuously functioning madrasa in the world. The city has been called the "Mecca of the West" and the "Athens of Africa".^[4]

History

Etymology

The Middle Atlas mountains near the Fez city is called "Fazaz", and a small town west from Meknes is called Ait Fazzaz.

The word "فأس, Fa's" means 'Pickaxe' in Arabic, which legends say Idriss I used when he created the lines of the city. One noticeable thing was that the pickaxe was made from silver and gold.^[5]

During the Idrissid rule, Fez consisted of two cities or medinas: Fas Elbali, founded by Idris I, and Al-'Aliya, founded by his son, Idris II. During Idrisid rule the capital city was known as Al-'Aliya, with the name Fas being reserved for the separate site on the other side of the river; no Idrisid coins have been found with the name Fez, only al-'Aliya and al-'Aliya Madinat Idris. It is not known whether the name al-'Aliya was ever referred to both medinas. It wasn't until 1070 that the two agglomerations were united and the name Fas was used for the sites.^[6]

Foundation and the Idrisids

The city was founded on a bank of the Jawhar river by Idris I in 789, founder of the Zaydi Shi'ite Idrisid dynasty. His son, Idris II (808),^[7] built a settlement on the opposing river bank. These settlements would soon develop into two walled and largely autonomous sites, often in conflict with one another: Madinat Fas and Al-'Aliya. In 808 Al-'Aliya replaced Walili as the capital of the Idrisids.

Arab emigration to Fez, including 800 Andalusi families of Berber descent^[8] in 817–818 expelled after a rebellion against the Umayyads of Córdoba, and 2,000 Arab families banned from Kairouan (modern Tunisia) after another rebellion in 824, gave the city a more Arabic character than others of the region. The Andalusians settled in what is called the 'Old' Fez, while the Tunisians found their home in the 'New' Fez, also called al-'Aliya. These two waves of immigrants would subsequently give their name to the sites 'Adwat Al-Andalus and 'Adwat al-Qarawiyyin.^[9] The majority of the population was of Arab descent, and the minority was of North-African Berber descent, with rural Berbers from the surrounding countryside settling there throughout this early period, mainly in Madinat Fas (the Andalusian quarter) and later in Fes Jdid.^[10]

Upon the death of Idris II in 828, the dynasty’s territory was divided among his sons. The eldest, Muhammad, received Fez. The newly fragmented Idrisid power would never again be reunified. During Yahya ibn Muhammad's rule in Fez the Kairouyine mosque, one of the oldest and largest in Africa, was built and its associated Al-Qarawiyyin Madrasa was founded (859).^[11] Comparatively little is known about Idrisid Fez, owing to the lack of comprehensive historical narratives and that little has survived of the architecture and infrastructure of early Fez (Al-'Aliya). The sources that mention Idrisid Fez, describe a rather rural one, not having the cultural sophistication of the important cities of Al-Andalus and Ifriqiya.

In the 10th century the city was contested by the Caliphate of Córdoba and the Fatimids of Tunisia, who ruled the city through a host of Zenata clients. The Fatimids took the city in 927 and expelled the Idrissids, after which their Miknasa were installed there. The Miknasa were driven out of Fez in 980 by the Maghrawa, their fellow Zenata, allies of the Caliphate of Córdoba. It was in this period that the great Andalusian ruler Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir commissioned the Maghrawa to rebuild and refurnish the Al-Kairouan mosque, giving it much of its current appearance. According to the Rawd al-Qirtas and other Marinid era sources, the Maghrawi emir Dunas Al-Maghrawi filled up the open spaces between the two medinas and the banks of the river, dividing them with new constructions. Thus, the two cities grew into each other, being now only separated by their walls and the river. His sons fortified the city to a great extent. This could not keep the Almoravid emir Ibn Tashfin from conquering it in 1070, after more than a decade of battling the Zenata warriors in the area and constant besieging of the city.

In 1033, several thousand Jews were killed in the Fez Massacre.

Golden age and the Marinid period

Madinat Fas and Al-'Aliya were united in 1070 by the Almoravids: The walls dividing them were destroyed, bridges connecting them were built, and connecting walls were constructed that unified the medinas. Under Almoravid patronage the largest expansion and renovation of the Al-Kairouan mosque took place (1134-1143). Although the capital was moved to Marrakech and Tlemcen under the Almoravids, Fez acquired a reputation for Maliki legal scholarship and became an important centre of trade. Almoravid impact on the city's structure was such that the second Almoravid ruler, Ibn Tashfin, is often considered to be the second founder of Fez.^[12]

Like many Moroccan cities, Fez was greatly enlarged in the Almohad era and saw its previously dominating rural aspect lessen. This was accomplished partly by the settling there of Andalusians and the further improvement of the infrastructure. At the start of the 13th century they broke down the Idrisid city walls and constructed new ones, which covered a much wider space. These Almohad walls exist to this day as the outline of Fes el Bali. Under Almohad rule the city grew to become the largest in the world between 1170 and 1180, with an estimated 200.000 people living there.^[13]

In 1250 Fez regained its capital status under the Marinid dynasty. In 1276 after a massacre by the population to kill all Jews that was stopped by intervention of the Emir,^[14] they founded Fes Jdid, which they made their administrative and military centre. Fez reached its golden age in the Marinid period, which marked the beginning of its official, historical narrative.^[15][16] It is from the Marinid period that Fez's reputation as an important intellectual centre largely dates.^[17] They established the first madrassas in the city and country.^[18][19] The principal monuments in the medina, the residences and public buildings, date from the Marinid period.^[20] The madrasas are a hallmark of Marinid architecture, with its striking blending of Andalusian and Almohad traditions. Between 1271 and 1357 seven madrassas were built in Fez, the style of which has come to be typical of Fassi architecture.

The Jewish quarter of Fez, the Mellah was built in 1438, near the royal residence in Fez Jdid. The Mellah at first consisted of Jews from Fez el Bali and soon saw the arrival of Berber Jews from the Atlas range and Jewish immigrants from Al-Andalus. The Marinids spread the cult of Idris I and encouraged sharifism, financing sharifian families as a way to legitimize their (in essence secular) rule: From the 14th century onwards hundreds of families throughout Morocco claimed descent from Idris I, especially in Fez and the Rif mountains. In this regard they can be seen as the enablers of the latter sharifian dynasties of Morocco. A revolt in 1465 overthrew the last Maranid sultan. In 1474 the Marinids were replaced by their relatives of the Wattasid dynasty, who faithfully (but for a large part unsuccessfully) continued Marinid policies.^[21]

Modern period

In the Early Modern Age, the Ottoman Empire came close to Fez after the conquest of Oujda in the 16th century. In 1554, the Wattasid Dynasty took Fez with the support of the Turks, and the city became a vassal of the Ottomans, who finally conquered it in 1579 under sultan Murad III.^[22]

The Ottoman power in North Africa focused on threats posed by Habsburg Spain and the Portuguese Kingdom. As a result, Fez was not under pressure from the Ottoman rulers. The conquest of Fez was the catalyst for the move of the capital city of the Saadi Dynasty to Marrakech. Early in the 17th century the town returned to Moroccan control under Ahmad al-Mansur.^[23]

After the fall of the Saadi Dynasty (1649), Fez 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). Then manufacturing began in France and Turkey as well. 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 mas). Fez was also the end of a north-south gold trading route from Timbuktu. Fez was a prime manufacturing location for embroidery

Morocco Fez Embroidery Horse Cover

and leather goods such as the Adarga.

The city became independent in 1790, under the leadership of Yazid (1790–1792) and later of Abu´r-Rabi Sulayman. In 1795 control of the city returned to Morocco. Fez took part in a rebellion in 1819-1821, led by Ibrahim ibn Yazid, as well as in the 1832 rebellion led by Muhammad ibn Tayyib.

Following the implementation of the Treaty of Fez, the city was heavily damaged in the 1912 Fez riots.^[24]

Fez was the capital of Morocco until 1925. Rabat remained the capital even when Morocco achieved independence in 1956.

Despite its traditional character, there is a modern section: the Ville Nouvelle or "New City". Today it is a bustling commercial center. The popularity of the Fez has increased since the King of Morocco took a computer engineer from Fez, Salma Bennani, as his wife.

Place Lalla Yeddouna at the heart of the Medina is currently undergoing reconstruction and preservation measures following a design competition sponsored by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (Washington D.C.)^[25] and the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco. The construction projects scheduled for completion in 2016 encompass historic preservation of particular buildings, construction of new buildings that fit into the existing urban fabric and regeneration of the riverfront. The intention is to not only preserve the quality and characteristics of the UNESCO World Heritage site, but to encourage the development of the area as a sustainable, mixed-use area for artisanal industries and local residents.

Climate

Located by the Atlas Mountains, Fez has a Mediterranean climate with a strong continental influence, shifting from cold and rain in the winter to dry and hot days in the summer months between June and September. Rainfall can reach up to 600 mm (24 in) per year. The winter highs typically reach only 15 °C (59 °F) in December–January. The highest and lowest temperatures ever recorded in the city are 46.7 °C (116 °F) and −8.2 °C (17 °F), respectively.(see weather-table below). Fez's climate is strongly similar to the one you find in Seville and Cordoba of Spain. Snowfall on average occurs once every 5 years.^{[26][27][28][29]}

Subdivisions

The prefecture is divided administratively into the following:^[31]

Main sights

The Bou Inania Madrasa built by the Marinid sultan Abu Inan Faris in 1351.

Fez is becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination and many non-Moroccans are now restoring traditional houses (riads and dars) as second homes in the Fez 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

University of al-Karaouine

University of al-Karaouine.

The University of al-Karaouine or al-Qarawiyyin (Arabic: جامعة القرويين) is the oldest continually operating university in the world.^[32] The al-Karaouine mosque was founded by Fatima al-Fihri in 859 with an associated school, or madrasa, which subsequently became one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the historic Muslim world.^[33] It became a state university in 1963, and remains an important institution of learning today.^[34]

Transport

The city is served by Saïss Airport. It also has an ONCF train station with lines east to Oujda and west to Tanger and Casablanca.^[35]

Sport

Fez Stadium.

Fez has two football teams, MAS Fez (Fés Maghrebi) and Wydad Fés (WAF). They both play in the Botola the highest tier of the Moroccan football system and play their home matches at the 45,000 seat Complexe Sportif de Fès stadium.

Notable residents

• Fatima al-Fihri (ca. 800 - 880)
• Isaac Alfasi (1013-1103), Talmudist and posek
• Muhammad XII of Granada (c. 1460 - c. 1533), last Moorish king of Al-Andalus
• Yazid of Morocco (1750-1792), sultan of Morocco from 1790 to 1792
• Slimane of Morocco (1760-1822), sultan of Morocco from 1792 to 1822
• Abd al-Rahman of Morocco (1778-1859), sultan of Morocco from 1822 to 1859
• Muhammad IV of Morocco (1810-1873), sultan of Morocco from 1859 to 1873
• Hassan I of Morocco (1836-1894),sultan of Morocco from 1873 to 1894
• Abd al-Hafid of Morocco (1876-1937), sultan of Morocco from 1908 to 1912
• Abdelaziz of Morocco (1878-1943), sultan of Morocco from 1894 to 1908
• Mohammed Ben Aarafa (1886-1976), sultan of Morocco from 1953 to 1955
• Mohammed V of Morocco (1909-1961), sultan then king of Morocco
• Ahmed Bahnini (1909-1971), Prime Minister of Morocco from 13 November 1963 to 7 June 1965.
• Allal El Fassi (1910-1974), politician
• Ahmed Sefrioui (1915-2004), writer
• Mohammed Karim Lamrani (b. 1919), Prime Minister of Morocco
• Azzedine Laraki (b. 1929), Prime Minister of Morocco from 30 September 1986 to 11 August 1992
• Ahmed Laraki (b. 1931), Premier Minister of Morocco from 7 October 1969 to 6 August 1971
• Ali Squalli Houssaini (b. 1932), author of the words to the Moroccan National Anthem
• Kasdi Merbah (1938-1993), Algerian politician
• Fatema Mernissi (1940-2015), feminist writer and sociologist
• Abdelwahab Doukkali (b. 1941), singer
• Abdellatif Laâbi (b. 1942), writer and poet
• Joël Santoni (b. 1942), French film director and screenwriter
• Tahar Ben Jelloun (b. 1944), writer and poet
• Brahim Lahlafi (n. 1968), athlete/long-distance runner
• Tarik Sektioui (b. 1977), footballer
• Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco (b. 1978) princess consort of Morocco
• Mohammed Bennis (b. 1978), poet
• Jamal Fakir (b. 1982), French international rugby league player
• Adel Taarabt (b. 1989), footballer
• Madame Guinaudeau, French cookery and travel writer.^[36]

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Fez is twinned with:

• Montpellier, France, since 1961
• Strasbourg, France, since 1961
• Florence, Italy, since 1961
• Kairouan, Tunisia, since 1965
• Tlemcen, Algeria, since 1969
• Saint Louis, Senegal, since 1979
• Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain, since 1982
• Jerusalem, Palestine (since 1982) (The twinning was signed with the Palestinian Authority, and the city is referred to as "Al-Quds")^[37][38]
• İzmir, Turkey, since 1995^[39]
• Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, since 2003
• Suwon, South Korea, since 2003
• Coimbra, Portugal^[40]
• Lahore, Pakistan
• Multan, Pakistan
• Puebla, Mexico

Partnerships

• Kraków in Poland (since 1985)^[41]

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 0-8061-1198-4).
• 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.
• The open international project competition for Lalla Yeddouna, A Neighborhood in the Medina of Fez, announced in September 2010 in collaboration with the Union International des Architectes (UIA) and the Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC), to renew the area and upgrade the living and working standards of the artisans in the medina. The approach of the project is probably one of the most ambitious for an Arab medina and therefore of exemplary character (www.projectcompetition-fez.com). The open international project was won by the London-based architecture practice Mossessian & Partners.

Notes

Further reading

Published in the 19th century

• Jedidiah Morse; Richard C. Morse (1823), "Fez", A New Universal Gazetteer (4th ed.), New Haven: S. Converse 
• H.M.P. de la Martinière (1889), "(Fez)", Morocco: Journeys in the Kingdom of Fez and to the Court of Mulai Hassan, London: Whittaker & Co., OCLC 4428176 

Published in the 20th century

• "Fez", The Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th ed.), New York: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1910, OCLC 14782424 
• Edith Wharton (1920), "Fez", In Morocco, New York: Scribner 

Published in the 21st century

• Stefano Bianca (2000), "Case Study 3: Fez", Urban Form in the Arab World, Zürich: ETH Zürich, ISBN 3728119725, 0500282056 
• C. Edmund Bosworth, ed. (2007). "Fez". Historic Cities of the Islamic World. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill. 
• Michael R.T. Dumper; Bruce E. Stanley, eds. (2008), "Fez", Cities of the Middle East and North Africa, Santa Barbara, USA: ABC-CLIO 
• "Fez". Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture. Oxford University Press. 2009. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fes.

• Official government website of the city
• Portal dedicated to Fez. Online Since 2006.
• Fez travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Fez Portal at Ville Fès
• Complexe culturel de Fès, Cultural Complex of Fez
• The portal of Fez at Fès-City
• Competition for the architectural and urban preservation and renovation of the Medina
• Medina Of Fes
• The Fez Festival: Sacred Music From Around The World – audio report by NPR
• "Fez". Islamic Cultural Heritage Database. Istanbul: Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture. 
• ArchNet.org. "Fez". Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: MIT School of Architecture and Planning. 

Fès-Meknès region Capital: Fes Provinces and prefectures Boulemane Province El Hajeb Province Fès Prefecture Ifrane Province Meknès Prefecture Moulay Yacoub Province Sefrou Province Taounate Province Taza Province Cities Agourai Ahermoumou Ain Aicha Ain Cheggag Ain Taoujdate Aknoul Azrou Bhalil Bouhouda Boulman El Hajeb El Menzel Fes Guercif Guigou Imouzzer Kandar Imouzzer Marmoucha Missour Mkansa Moulay Idriss Zerhoun Moulay Yacoub Oued Amlil Ouislane Outat El Haj Sabaa Aiyoun Sebt Jahjouh Sefrou Tahla Taza Toulal Tamedit Taounate

Prefectures and provinces of Morocco Prefectures Agadir-Ida Ou Tanane Casablanca Fès Inezgane-Aït Melloul Marrakesh Meknès Mohammedia Oujda-Angad Rabat Safi Salé Skhirate-Témara Tangier-Assilah Provinces Al Haouz Al Hoceïma Aousserd Assa-Zag Azilal Benslimane Béni-Mellal Berkane Berrechid Boujdour Boulemane Chefchaouen Chichaoua Chtouka Aït Baha Driouch El Hajeb El Jadida El Kelâa des Sraghna Errachidia Es Semara Essaouira Fahs-Anjra Figuig Fquih Ben Salah Guelmim Guercif Ifrane Jerada Kénitra Khémisset Khénifra Khouribga Laâyoune Larache Médiouna Midelt Moulay Yacoub Nador Nouaceur Ouarzazate Oued Ed-Dahab Ouezzane Rehamna Safi Sefrou Settat Sidi Bennour Sidi Ifni Sidi Kacem Sidi Slimane Tan-Tan Taounate Taourirt Tarfaya Taroudannt Tata Taza Tétouan Tinghir Tiznit Youssoufia Zagora

World Heritage Sites in Morocco Northern Medina of Fes el Bali Rabat, modern capital and historic city: a shared heritage Medina of Tétouan (formerly known as Titawin) Archaeological Roman 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