Medieval Magic in the Medina

A stroll through Fes’s medina is like being catapulted back in time; whole lambs roast in pits buried in the ground; pigeon poop and natural dyes fill the vats of the leather tanneries; and market healers sell magical talismans for fertility and fortune.


The dense concentration of civic, religious, and military monuments reflects the intellectual vitality of the city created during the first centuries of the Islamisation of Morocco. Madrasas, mosques, and fondouks (inns used by travelling merchants) abound, many of them extraordinary examples of the architecture of the medieval period. One of our favourites is the Madrasa Bou Inania with its gorgeous cedar mashrabiyas (a type of projecting window), ornate zellige (mosaic tile work), and beautifully carved plasterwork.


Another favourite is the Qarawiyine university, the oldest existing and continually operating educational institution in the world founded by Fatima al-Fihri in 859AD. The original buildings belong to the North African mosque tradition, but later expansions included elements of Moorish design such as floral patterns and elaborate fountains brought Muslim and Jewish refugees expulsed from the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century. The university’s prestigious library was recently restored by Toronto-based architect Aziza Chaouni.




The medina today is faded and crumbling but also grand and proud. Its inhabitants too have retained some of the magic and the mystery of the medieval. We walk past men wearing the djellaba (the traditional long hooded coat), and in the souks, we buy talismans to protect us from the unseen world of the djinns.