Fès (or Fèz, another spelling), is an endlessly fascinating, ancient city in northern Morocco, a blend of old and new. Walking through the high, arched gate into the medina of Fés el-Bali is a step into the Islamic Middle Ages.
Yes, there are bicycles and satellite dishes and endless cell phones, but they don’t detract from the sense of another era, exotic at every turn. Here we learned the art of bargaining while shopping the souks of Fes.
Before entering the old, walled section, the larger of two medinas, we looked down at it from a distance. We saw a warren of tightly crammed clay and stone buildings and occasional green-tiled roofs, which always indicate a Muslim school or mosque. A quarter of a million people live and work in this section of the city, which has been here for some 1200 years. It’s said to be the world’s largest car-free urban area. No four-wheeled vehicle could squeeze through these crowded streets.
photo: Zeiss Batis 18mm
original size 23000x11500
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