A Guide to Fez

I was back in Morocco in November, having cut my trip short in September due to the Morocco earthquake. I rescheduled the tour I had planned through the country with Much Better Adventures and met my new group in mid-November in Casablanca.

From Casablanca, we drove north to Chefchaouen, the jewel of Morocco and the world famous blue city, for two nights.

From there, it was onto Fez, home to the world’s oldest Medina. Fez is the second largest city in all of Morocco, and the furthest north we would venture on our country tour. We arrived late in the afternoon after our stopover at Volubilis, and settled into a quiet evening of good food and exploring our pretty riad before what was sure to be a busy following day.

Where to Stay in Fez

All of our accommodation for our trip through Morocco was pre-booked by Much Better Adventures as we were traveling as a group. I might not have selected the Riad al Makan if I had done my own research, but in the end, it was in a well-located part of Fez on the edge of the Medina. The Medina is rife with pickpocketing and easy to get lost in, so I liked that we were on the edge of it and not in the heart of it.

Ceramics of Fez

From the viewpoint we made our way to a well-known ceramic shop in Fez, Art Naji. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it - the tour guide was a great sales person and told us in great detail how much training the workers there have, but they also charge an arm and a leg for their products and it felt a bit more like a performance than an authentic pottery experience.

However, Fez is well-known for its Moroccan ceramics, especially the blue pottery which dates back centuries, originating from the cobalt blue of the stones from the river running through Wadi Mellih Gorge. I did buy a few pieces of pottery but in the Medina for very affordable prices from tiny little street stalls, instead of at the factory we toured.

Walking through Fez Medina

Then it was time to enter the sensory overload that is the Fez Medina, the oldest in the world, where you can buy every possible thing and where haggling is law. Donkeys harrumph their way through the narrow alleys, cats running afoot, children laughing as they expertly navigate the maze and the scent of every possible spice and food wafts through the air, drowned out by the shouts of merchants selling their wares. What an experience.

The Fez Medina is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the world's oldest medina, contains the world's oldest university, the University of al-Qarawiyyin founded in 857, which is home to the Kairaouine Mosque at the heart of it, as well as the oft-photographed Chouara Tannery from the 11th century.

The tannery smelt horribly of dead flesh, given that they still use the original processes of tanning the animal skins in gigantic vats of dye and then leaving them out to dry in the hot Moroccan sun. I was really nauseous during our visit, even with the fresh mint stuff in my nose that they had given all us visitors and had to have a light lunch of just bread and tea to qualm my uneasy stomach.

Visiting Al-Attarine Madrasa

Our final stop in Fez was a quick visit to the beautifully preserved Al-Attarine Madrasa, a former Islamic school. The name comes from the nearby Souk al-Attarine, the spice and perfume market. Today, it is considered one of the best examples of Marinid architecture both thanks to the exquisite decoration and also the exceptional use of limited space.

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