It later became the heart of the university of the same name – one of the oldest in the world.įez University history professor El-Haj Moussa Aouni said the city thrived in the 13th-14th centuries along with other centres across the Maghreb region – from Marrakech to Oran in Algeria and Kairouan in Tunisia. That period also represents a golden age in the city’s history, which had just been reinstated as Morocco’s capital after three centuries of being overshadowed by Marrakesh further south.ĭown a steep alley from Bou Inania lined with stalls selling traditional wares and local food, stands the Qarawiyyin mosque, built when the city was founded in the ninth century. Today, Fez serves as a monument to a highpoint of Islamic civilisation, the 13th and 14th centuries when Muslim rulers governed from Morocco to western China. The nearby Cherratine and Attarine madrassa were also recently renovated for the benefit of tourists, who “usually say their time here feels spiritual and the Old City is really genuine”, according to guide Sabah Alawi. The madrassa sits just inside Bab Boujelloud, one of the Old City’s main entrances and a key landmark for tourists. Tourists also flock to see the elegant open-air courtyard, graced by a central fountain and walls of carefully maintained tile work.

Soueif, 25, shares the madrassa’s upper floor with around 40 students of the Qarawiyyin University, which was a world-leading spiritual and educational hub centuries before the European renaissance.Īdorned throughout with intricate inscriptions and mosaics, students are not Bou Inania’s only visitors. The Bou Inania madrassa is one of six such institutions to be renovated since 2017, under a programme funded by Morocco’s government to preserve the city’s heritage and promote tourism. Studying at the 14th century Bou Inania madrassa (religious school), inside the Unesco-listed walled city, offers a life “in the embrace of a venerable academic history”, according to student Moaz Soueif. In the narrow streets of Fez’s Old City, Morocco’s first capital, centuries-old places of learning are being revived to promote moderation in Islam, as their founders originally intended.

City of fez