Visiting the Medina of Fez

During my D-term trip to Morocco, it is hard to pick just one place that I want to visit! However, more than anything, I want to visit the Moroccan Medina in Fez. I chose the Medina of Fez because of the historical significance and cultural past (see image below).



A Medina is the old part of the city that is often found in many countries in North Africa. The Medina is typically walled and contains narrow streets, fountains, and mosques. The Medina is often times car-free because there is not enough space for cars to pass in the alleyways. The word Medina means city or town in modern-day Arabic.

The Medina of Fez (see image below) is located in the lowlands between the Rif and Middle Atlas mountain ranges in Northern Morocco. 



The Medina of Fez was founded in the 9th century and is home to the oldest university in the world, University of Al-Karaouine. The Medina holds numerous monumental buildings and the memory of the capital that was founded by the Idrisid dynasty between 789 and 808 A.D. The Medina consists of Fes el-Bali, the original city founded by the Idrisid dynasty on both shores of the Oued Fes. While the Medina of Fez was founded in the 9th century, it continued to grow vastly during the 12th and 13th century to the size to become the size it is today. In 1981, UNESCO declared the Medina of Fez a World CulturalHeritage site.

As for tourists, many previous tourists suggest going to the Medina and wandering around and focus less on the map aspect of the Medina. In wandering around, it helps to understand the culture and get the "true" Moroccan experience. Since there are no cars allowed in the Medina, tourists must walk around the Medina by foot. 

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