Narrow alley in the middle of the old city of Fes

Medina Fes (Fes el Bali)
Sunlight filtered through the wooden roofs and old structures supporting the walls of the alleys, and people passed by. Some were tourists looking down at the brightly colored goods, others were locals walking along, knowing their way around. The cries of leather bags, shoes, and carpets echoed through the air.

Founded in the 9th century, Medina Fes remains the largest surviving ancient city in the Islamic world. With over 10,000 small alleyways, it's said that "walking without a guide is more likely to get lost than to find your way." This complexity earned the Medina a UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981, protecting both its architecture and its way of life.

Along the promenade, shops lined the walls with colorful leather goods, bags, shoes, and cushions, all traced back to the nearby Chouara Tannery. This tannery, which dates back to the 11th century, still uses traditional methods today. Workers tread on leather in stone pits filled with lime, pigeon droppings, and herbs to soften and condition it. The leather is then dyed with natural dyes, such as red lac. Yellow from indigo grass, orange from local flowers.

In another alleyway, we saw a boy filling plastic bottles with water from a mosaic-tiled tap. Ancient Arabic fonts still appear around these fountains, a testament to the Medina's continued reliance on infrastructure inherited from centuries ago.

Every corner we walked, from the shadow of the Qarawiyyin Mosque, said to be the world's oldest university, to the small jewelry shops hanging along the old walls, revealed a city where the past still breathes in the present.

The Medina of Fez is not just a tourist attraction; it's a living museum, where people still live in the same spaces their ancestors walked in over a thousand years ago. The smell of fresh leather mingles with spices, and the call to prayer from the mosque mingles with the laughter of children in the narrow alleys.

#Morroco #FesElBal #Medina

Post by Mr. Choon | Sep 27, 2025