Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller

You may wish to see an introductory page to this section or a page on the walls and gates of Fez first.

(left) The Great Mosque seen from the Marinid Tombs; (right) its minaret seen from Fondouk el-Nejjarin

Besides the cities of Morocco (Marrakech) and Mequinez, which are two imperial cities, that of Fez is also one of the principal in the empire. It even ought to have precedence of those two capitals, as it is the more ancient, and gave name to the first monarchy in Africa, after the Moors had embraced Mahometanism. (..) This city was held in so high a degree of veneration that, when the pilgrimage to Mecca was interrupted, in the fourth century of the Hejira, the western Mahometans, as a substitute, repaired to Fez, while the eastern journeyed to Jerusalem.
Louis de Chénier - The Present State of the Empire of Morocco - 1788

Great Mosque: (left) the wood screen through which one can have a view of one of the courtyards; (centre/right) courtyard

In the first moments of that zeal which every religious novelty inspires, a still larger mosque was built at Fez, and called Carubin, because it was founded by the Arabs of Cairoan. This is one of the finest edifices in the empire, and, perhaps, in Africa. (..) The mosque of Carubin is the only remarkable public building, and that cannot be freely examined. (..) The Moors of Fez are vain, superstitious, and intolerant. The Saints, whom they pretend have been buried in that city, serve them for a pretext to forbid its entrance to Jews and Christians and an order from the Emperor is necessary to gain admission. Chénier
From an architectural point of view the great Karubin cannot be considered in any way a fine building. Moreover, it is so disadvantageously situated, being penned in with houses and booths, that it is only some parts, where the entrances are, that can be seen at all. (..) Moreover, the general appearance of the whole gives the impression that everything is half sunk in the ground.
Gerhard Rohlfs - Adventures in Morocco (in 1861) - 1874
A law forbids non-Muslims to access the mosques of Morocco (more on this topic).

Great Mosque: details of its bronze doors

The chiefe Mahumetan temple in this towne is called Caruven, being of so incredible a bigness, that the circuit thereof and of the buildings longing unto it, is a good mile and a halfe about. (..) This temple hath one and thirtie gates or portals of a woonderfull greatnes and height.
Leo Africanus - The history and description of Africa: and of the notable things therein contained - 1526 - 1600 translation by John Pory
The Karubin is considered to be one of the richest mosques. A third part of the shops or stalls in Fez belong to it; its fields and gardens are numerous, and though former rulers of Fez may have at times seized all its revenues and goods, others again have made double compensation. Rohlfs
The exterior of the Great Mosque is hidden by small buildings and shops, so it is very difficult to make up its design. By walking around it to check whether one of its many bronze doors is temporarily open, one understands how large it is.

Great Mosque: one of the portals

The bronze doors go back to the time of the Almoravids (XIIth century). The plaster and wooden decoration were most likely made during the Marinid rule (XIVth century), more or less at the same time the Nasrid Kings of Granada decorated their palaces.

Medrese (Koranic school) es-Seffarin (brass makers, see below): portal

When the Arabs had extended themselves in Asia, Africa, and Europe, they brought to Fez the knowledge they had acquired in the arts and sciences; and, to its religious schools, this capital added academies for philosophy, physic, and astronomy. (..) Some love of learning is still preserved at Fez, where Arabic is better spoken than in the other parts of the empire: the rich Moors send their children to the schools of Fez, where they gain more instruction than they could do elsewhere. Chénier

Medrese Bou Inania: main courtyard

Some colleges here are which containe an hundred studies, some more, and some fewer, all which were built by divers kings of the Marin-familie. One there is among the rest most beautifull and admirable to behold, which was erected by a certaine king called Habu Henon (Abou Inan, Sultan in 1348-1358). Here is to be scene an excellent fountaine of marble, the cesterne whereof containeth two pipes. Through this college runneth a little streame in a most cleere and pleasant chanell, the brims and edges whereof are workmanly framed of marble, and stones of Majolica. Likewise here are three cloysters to walke in, most curiously and artificially made, with certaine eight-square pillers of divers colours to support them. And betweene piller and piller the arches are beautifully overcast with golde, azure, and divers other colours. Leo Africanus

Medrese Bou Inania: (left) Prayer Hall; (right) detail of its tile decoration

The walles round about as high as a man can reach, are adorned with plaister-worke of Majolica. In many places you may finde certaine verses, which declare what yeere the college was built in, together with many epigrams in the founders commendation. The letters of which verses are very great and blacke, so that they may be red a far off. (..) Some affirme, that the king having built this college, was desirous to knowe how much money he had spent in building it; but after he had perused a leafe or two of his account-booke, finding the summe of fortie thousand duckats, he rent it asunder, and threw it into the foresaid little river, adding this sentence out of a certaine Arabian writer: "Each pretious and amiable thing, though it costeth deere, yet if it be beautifull, it cannot choose but be good cheape: neither is any thing of too high a price, which pleaseth a mans affection." Leo Africanus

Medrese Bou Inania: (left) ceiling in the prayer hall; (right) detail of a bronze door; see another detail of this medrese in the introductory page and another medrese built by Abou Inan at Meknes and one built by his father at Salé

The roofe is very artificially built of wood. This college gates are of brasse most curiously carved, and so are the doores artificially made of wood. Leo Africanus

Medrese Attarin (built in 1323-1325 near the market of the perfumers): (left) prayer hall; (right) brass lamp

The other colleges of Fez are somwhat like unto this, having every one readers and professors, some of which read in the forenoone, and some in the afternoone. In times past the students of these colleges had their apparell and victuals allowed them for seven yeeres, but now they have nothing gratis but their chamber. Leo Africanus
The image used as background for this page shows a detail of a wood panel of this medrese.

Minarets: (left) Medrese Bou Inania; (centre) two other minarets; (right) "sebka" decoration of a minaret

Each temple hath a turret or steeple, from whence certaine are appointed with a lowd voice to call the people at their set-time of praier. Leo Africanus
All the minarets of Morocco were designed following the pattern established by the Almohads in the late XIIth century when they built the minarets of the Great Mosques of Seville, Rabat and Marrakech. Their decoration is based on sebka, a grid of diamond shapes. Square minarets can be seen also in parts of Syria/Turkey, but they are slender (see those at Aleppo - before the Civil War -, Silvan and Harran).

Fondouk (Inn) el-Nejjarin (Carpenters): (left) portal; (right) fountain (XIXth century)

In this citie are almost two hundred innes, the greatest whereof are in the principall part of the citie neere unto the chiefe temple. Every of these innes are three stories high, and containe an hundred and twenty or more chambers apeece. Likewise each one hath a fountaine together with sinks and water-pipes, which make avoidance of all the filth. Never, to my remembrance, did I see greater buildings, except it were the Spanish college at Bologna, or the pallace of the Cardinall di San Giorgio at Rome. Leo Africanus
The city contains some tolerably convenient inns, two or three stories high, with galleries toward the court, which is always in the centre, and admits light to the apartments. They have no appearance of grandeur whatever toward the streets. Chénier
The architectural and decorative patterns established during the Almohad and Marinid rule did not change in a remarkable way in the following centuries because the portal of this inn, which was built in 1711, is very similar to those of the Great Mosque and of the Marinid medreses.

Fondouk el-Nejjarin: courtyard

And albeit the innes of this citie are very faire and large, yet they affoord most beggerly entertainment to strangers: for there are neither beds nor couches for a man to lie upon, unlesse it be a course blanket and a mat. (..) The inne-keepers of Fez being all of one familie called Elcheua, goe apparelled like women, and shave their beards, and are so delighted to imitate women, that they will not only counterfeite their speech, but will sometimes also sit downe and spin. Each one of these hath his concubine, whom he accompanieth as if she were his owne lawfull wife; albeit the said concubines are not onely ill-favoured in countenance, but notorious for their bad life and behaviour. Leo Africanus
The public baths, which health, cleanliness, and custom, rendered necessary, became the receptacles of debauchery, into which men were introduced in the dress of women; and the youth of the city ranged the streets, after sun set, in the same disguise, to prevail upon strangers to go with them to the inns, which were rather houses of prostitution than places for the convenience and repose of travellers. Chénier

Off Tala el-Kbira, the very busy pedestrian street which crosses the market district of Fez el-Bali

Their shops make no show, and should rather be called stalls, there being just room enough for a sedentary Moor, who never moves, and the packets that are heaped round him, to which he points as passengers arrive. Chénier
The Medina of Fez is considered as one of the most extensive and best conserved historic towns of the Arab-Muslim world. The unpaved urban space conserves the majority of its original functions and attribute. It not only represents an outstanding architectural, archaeological and urban heritage, but also transmits a life style, skills and a culture that persist and are renewed despite the diverse effects of the evolving modern societies.
UNESCO synthesis of the universal value of Fez which in 1981 was included in the World Heritage List.

Place es-Seffarin (brass makers)

Each trade or occupation hath a peculiar place allotted thereto, the principall whereof are next unto the great temple. (..) On the east side of the Great Mosque dwell those that sell vessels and other commodities made of brasse. Leo Africanus
Leo Africanus has given a description of the city of Fez in the sixteenth century. (..) I had every liberty of examining this city, which is one of the most agreeable of the Moorish empire; but the minute circumstances related by Leo are unworthy the attention of the traveller. Chénier
The detailed description of the trades and shops of Fez el-Bali by Leo Africanus could still be useful today because the brass market continues to be situated to the east of the Great Mosque.

Food market outside Bab Chorfa

Then followes the herbe-market, wherein the pome-citrons, and divers kindes of greene boughes and herbes doe represent the sweete and flourishing spring. (..) Next unto these are such as sell oile, salt, butter, cheese, olives, pome-citrons and capers: their shops are full of fine earthen vessels, which are of much greater value then the things contained in them. Leo Africanus

Tanners' district

The Mahometans of Andalusia, Grenada, and Cordova, during the revolutions of Spain, passed over to Fez, whither they brought new manners, knowledge, and, perhaps, some shades of civilization. They taught the Spanish method of dressing and dying red and yellow goat and sheep skins, then called Cordovan leather, now Morocco, from the city of that name (Marrakech), where, however, the dye is least in perfection. Chénier
It seems that at the present time the finest leathers are prepared in Fez; at any rate, throughout the whole of North Africa, those of Fez are esteemed as the finest and most durable. Rohlfs

Andalusian Gardens (early XXth century between Fez el-Jedid and Fez el-Bali) with a reconstructed noria, a wheel for raising the water, similar to those at Cordoba

There are some thousands of mils in the whole citie. (..) Certaine merchants there are in Fez, which hiring mils and shops, buie corne and sell it ready ground unto the citizens, whereby they reape exceeding gaine: for the greatest part of the citizens being poore, and not able to lay up corne sufficient in store, are faine to buie meale of them. But the richer sort buie their owne corne, and send it to some common mill, where they pay a shilling for the grinding of each measure. All the saide mils pertaine either to the temples or colleges: for he must be very rich that hath a mill of his owne; for every mill eaineth the owner two duckats. Leo Africanus
A river winds along the valley, watering it in various directions, turning by its declivity a number of mills, and supplying water in abundance to all the gardens and most of the houses. Chénier

Museum Dar el-Batha (a late XIXth century royal palace between Fez el-Jedid and Fez el-Bali)

Each garden formerly had its country house, where the inhabitants passed their summer; but these have been destroyed by their civil wars, and those revolutions in which Fez and its environs have been the scene of action; while few of them were afterward rebuilt. By order of the Prince Muley Ali, eldest son of the emperor, I was most agreeably lodged at one of these gardens. This Prince gave me an entertainment in another garden, through the middle of which the river passed, its banks ornamented by a row of trees, and under a pavilion, erected with taste. Such situations are every where charming, and especially so in hot climates, where water though more necessary, is more uncommon. Chénier

Museum Dar el-Batha: exhibits

In 1916, after the establishment of the French Protectorate over Morocco, the palace was turned into a museum. It houses artefacts from demolished medreses and other historical buildings of Fez.

Go to Fez: Walls and Gates or to Fez el-Jedid.

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