Fes, Morocco

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This article is about the city Fes in Morocco. For other meanings please see Fez.

Fes

Fes (Morocco)

Bab Bou Jeloud, gate to the Old Medina of Fes

Medina of Fes

Leather dyeing vats in Fes

Dar el-Makhzen, the royal palace

Fes or Fez (Arabic فـاس [Fās], French Fès) is the third largest city in Morocco, after Casablanca and Rabat, with a population of 946,815 (2004 census). It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane Region.

Fes is one of the four so-called "imperial cities" (the others are Marrakech, Meknes and Rabat). It is separated into three 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). The Medina of Fes el Bali, the largest of the two medinas of Fes, is believed to be the largest contiguous carfree urban area in the world. Fes el Bali is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

1 History
- 1.1 Tourism
2 Fes World Sacred Music Festival
3 Transport
4 Town twinning
5 Trivia
6 Footnotes
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] History

The city was founded on opposite banks of Fez river by Idris I in 789^[1] and his son Idris II In 810.^[2] The first was the founder of Idrisid dynasty and the latter is considered to be the real founder of the dynasty. During Yahya ibn Muhammad rule the Kairouyine mosque, one of the oldest and largest in Africa, was built, and the associated University of Karueein was founded in 859.^[3] Arabs emigration to Fes, mostly from al-Andalus after a rebellion which took place in Cordoba in 818 and Tunisia after another rebellion that took place in 824, gave the city a definite Arab character. 'Adwat al-Qarawiyyin and 'Adwat al-Andalus, the two main quarters of Fes, was called respectively after the Arab immigrants to the new city.^[4] After Ali ibn Umar (Ali II) came to power, the tribes of Madyuna, Gayatha and Miknasa, which were Sufrite Kharijites, formed a common front against the Idrisid and defeated Ali's armies and occupied Fes. Yahya ibn Al-Qassim, drove the Sufrite out of The city and declare himself as Ali's successor.^[5]

The city was populated by Muslims from elsewhere in North Africa, the Middle East, Moriscos, as well as many Jews, who had their own quarter, or Mellah, in the city.

It is believed that Fes was the largest city in the world from 1170 to 1180.^[6] It was the center of the Kingdom of Fez.

Fes became the scientific and religious center, where both Muslims and Christians from Europe came to study. Many Muslim refugees came to Fes after the reconquest of Spain in 1492.

Fes became part of the Moroccan Empire in 1548. In 1579 the capture of Fez completed Ottoman conquests in Morocco that had begun under Süleyman the Magnificent.

Fes became the center of the Alaouite Dynasty in 1649, and it 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 kizziljiek or Greek akenia (Cornus mascula). Fes was also the end of a north-south gold trading route from Timbuktu.

Fez was a prime manufacturing location for leather goods such as the Adarga.

Fes was the capital of Morocco at various times in the past, the last such period ending in 1912, when most of Morocco came under French control and Rabat was chosen to be the capital of the new colony, a distinction that city retained 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. ^[7]), and the economy has stagnated, Fes is perhaps the most interesting and picturesque of the Imperial Cities of Morocco. 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 Fassi computer engineer, Salma Bennani, as his wife.

[edit] Tourism

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.

[edit] Fes World Sacred Music Festival

Main article: World Sacred Music Festival

Thousands of visitors now converge on the city every year to experience a unique week-long celebration of sacred musical traditions from every corner of our planet. Famous performers like Ravi Shankar, Youssou N'Dour and Salif Keita are juxtaposed with more obscure musical genres such as Japanese Gagaku, Indonesian Gamelan and folk music from Central Asia. The 2007 festival promises to be a vintage year, with new Artistic Director Cherif Khaznadar bringing a fresh perspective to the programme. The festival was founded in 1994 by the Moroccan scholar and philanthropist Faouzi Skali. It includes a four-day Forum under the rubric "Giving Soul to Globalisation". Politicians, social activists, visionaries, academics and religious leaders come together in dialogue. The Forum is Sponsored by the World Bank.

Panoramic View of Fez

[edit] Transport

The city is served by Saïss Airport.

[edit] Town twinning

[edit] Trivia

The city has been widely referenced in the brazilian soap-opera O Clone.
The video clip Mysterious Ways of U2 was filmed in this city (October 1991, directed by Stéphane Sednaoui)

[edit] Footnotes

^ Jewish and Muslim Dialects of Moroccan Arabic By Jeffrey M Heath. p. 23.
^ Fes." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 3 Mar. 2007
^ Merriam Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia. p.574.
^ A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period By Jamil Mir'i Abun-Nasr. p. 51.
^ A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period By Jamil Mir'i Abun-Nasr. p. 52.
^ Largest Cities Through History
^ Norman Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands, 1979, pages 59, 284.
^ The twinning was signed with the Palestinian Authority between Fes and Al-Quds. Morocco does not recognize yet officially Israel.