FEZ THE ATHENS OF AFRICA

          Fez or Fes in Arabic: فاس, is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fas-Meknas administrative region, it's the second largest city in Morocco after Casablanca, with a population of 1.7 million in 2020. Located to the northeast of Atlas Mountains, Fez is situated at the crossroad of the important cities of all regions, it's surrounded by the high grounds and the old city is penetrated by the River of Fez flowing from the west to the east. Fez was founded under the Idrisid rule during the 8th-9th centuries C.E, it consisted of two autonomous and competing settlements. The migration of 2000 Arab families in the early 9th century gave the nascent city its Arabic character, after the downfall of the Idrisid dynasty, several empires came and went until the 11th century when the Almoravid Sultan Yusuf Ibn Tachafin United the two settlements and rebuilt the city, which became today's Fes El Bali quarter. Under the Almoravid rule the city gained a reputation for the religious scholarship and the mercantile activity, Fez reached its zenith in the Marinid era, regaining the status as the capital. Numerous madrasas, mosques, zawiyas and city gates were constructed which survived up until today, these buildings are considered the hallmarks of Moorish and Moroccan architectural styles, Marinid Sultans also founded Fes Jdid quarter, where newer palaces and gardens were established.
During this period the Jewish population of the city grew as well, with the Mellah "Jewish quarter" attracting the Jewish migrants from other North African regions. After the overthrow of the Marinid dynasty, the city largely declined and was replaced by Marrakech for political and cultural influence but remained as the capital under the Wattasids and modern Morocco until 1912. Today the city largely consists of two old medina quarters, Fes El Bali and Fes Jdid and modern unrban area of a new city constructed during the French colonial era, the medina of Fez is listed as a World Heritage Site and is believed to be one of the world's largest urban pedestrian zones, it has the Madrasa or  University of Al Quaraouiyine which was founded in 859 by Fatima Al-Fihri originally as a mosque, the Madrasa is the oldest existing and continually operating degree awarding educational institution in the world according to UNESCO and Guinness World Records. During Marinid rule, Fez was also the political capital of the empire, partly due to the Sultan Abu Yaaqub Yusuf's intention to mitigate the tension between the Ulamas in the old city, this led to the government devoting great attention to the construction of madrasas following the Maliki Orthodoxy, resulting in the unprecedented prosperity of the city's religious institutions. The first madrasa built during the Marinid era was the Saffarin Madrasa in Fez El-Bali by Sultan Abu Yusuf in 1271, Sultan Abu Al-Hassan was the most prolific patron of madrasa construction, completing the Al-Attarine, Mesbahiya and Sahrij Madrasa in Fez alone and several other Madrasa as well in other cities such as Salé and Meknes, his son Abu Inan Faris built the famed Bou Inania Madrasa and by the time of his death, every major city in the Marinid Empire had at least one Madrasa. The library of the Madrasa of Al-Quaeawiyin was also established under Marinid rule around 1350, which stores a large selection of valuable manuscripts dating back to the medieval era, the largest madrasa in the medina is Cherratine Madrasa commissioned by the Alaouite Sultan Al-Rashid in 1670, which is the only major non-Marinid foundation besides the Madrasa of Al Quarawiyin the oldest continuously functioning university in the world, it also has Chouara Tannery from the 11th century, one of the oldest tanneries in the world. The city has been called the Mecca of the west and the Athens of Africa.



There are numerous historic mosques in the medina, some of which are part of a madrasa or Zawiya, among the oldest mosques still standing today are the highly prestigious Mosque of Al-Quarawiyin, founded in 857 the mosque of the Andalusians founded in 859 to 860, the Bou Jeloud Mosque from the late 12th century and possibly the Mosque of the Kasbah en-Nouar which may have existed in the Almohad period but was likely rebuilt much later. The very oldest mosques of the city, dating back to its first years, were the mosque of the Sharifs or Shurafa Mosque and the Mosque of the Sheikhs or Al-Anouar Mosque. However, they no longer exist in their original form, the Mosque of the Sharifs was the burial site of Idris II and evolved into the Zawiya of Moulay Idris II that exists today, while the Al-Anouar Mosque has left only minor remnants, a number of mosques from the imprtant Marinid era, when Fes Jdid was created to be the capital of Morocco, include the Great Mosque of Fez Jdid from 1276, the Abu Al-Hassan Mosque from 1341, the Chrabliyine Mosqu from 1342, the Al-Hamra Mosque from around the same period and the Bab Guissa Mosque, also from the reign of Abu Al-Hassan 1331-1351 but modified in later centuries. Other major mosques from the more recent Alaouite period are the Moulay Abdallah Mosque, built in the early to mid 18th century with the tomb of Sultan Moulay Abdallah and the R'cif Mosque built in the reign of Moulay Slimane 1793-1822, the Zawiya of Moulay Idriss II and the Zawiya of Sidi Ahmed Al-Tijani include mosque areas as well as do several other prominent zawiyas in the city.
The entire medina of Fez was heavily fortified with crenelated walls with watchtowers and gates, a pattern of urban planning which can be seen in Salé and Chellah as well "Is a medieval fortified Muslim necropolis located in the metro area of Rabat" City walls  were placed into the current positions during the 11th century, under the Almoravid rule. During this period the two formerly divided cities known as Madinat Fas and Al-Aliya were united under a single enclosure, the Almoravid fortifications were later destroyed and then rebuilt by the Almohad dynasty in the 12th century, under Caliph Muhammad Al-Nasir, the oldest sections of the walls today thus date back to this time, these fortifications were restored and maintained by the Marinid dynasty from the 12th to 16th centuries, along with the founding of the royal citadel-city of Fes Jdid. Construction of the new city's gates and towers sometimes employed the labour of Christian prisoners of war, the gates of Fez scattered along the circuit of walls were guarded by the military detachments and shut at night, some of the main gates have existed, in different forms since the earliest years of the city, the oldest gates today and historically the most important ones of the city are Bab Mahrouk in the west, Bab Guissa in the northeast and Bab Ftouh in the southeast.After the foundation of Fes Jdid by the Marinids in the 13th century, new walls and three new gates such as Bab al-Amer and Bab Semmarine were established along its perimeter, later in modern times, the gates became more ceremonial rather than defensive structures, as reflected by the 1913 construction of the decorative Bab Bou Jeloud gate at the western entrance of Fes el-Bali by the French colonial administration.

Along with the city walls and gates, several forts were constructed along the defensive perimeters of the medina during the different time periods. The military watchtowers built in its early days during the Idrisid era were relatively small. However, the city rapidly developed as the military garrison center of the region during the Almoravid era, in which the military operations were commanded and carried out to other North African regions and Southern Europe to the north and Senegal river to the south. Subsequently, it led to the construction of numerous forts, kasbahs, and towers for both garrison and defense. A "kasbah" in the context of Maghrebi region is the traditional military structure for fortification, military preparation, command and control. Some of them were occupied as well by citizens, certain tribal groups and merchants. Throughout the history, 13 kasbahs were constructed surrounding the old city. Among the most prominent among them is the Kasbah An-Nouar, located at the western or north-western tip of Fes el-Bali, which dates back to the Almohad era but was restored and repurposed under the Alaouites. Today, it is an example of a kasbah serving as a residential district much like the rest of the medina, with its own neighborhood mosque. The Kasbah Bou Jeloud, which no longer exists as a kasbah today, was once the governor's residence and stood near Bab Bou Jeloud, south of the Kasbah an-Nouar, it too had its own mosque, known as the Bou Jeloud Mosque. Other kasbahs include the Kasbah Tamdert, built by the Saadis near Bab Ftouh and the Kasbah Cherarda, built by the Alaouite sultan Moulay al-Rashid just north of Fes Jdid. Kasbah Dar Debibagh is one of the newest kasbahs, built in 1729 during the Alaouite era at 2 km from the city wall in a strategic position. The Saadis also built a number of strong bastions in the late 16th century to assert their control over Fes, including notably the Borj Nord which is among the largest strictly military structures in the city and now refurbished as a military museum. Its sister fort, Borj Sud, is located on the hills to the south of the city.