FEZ, MOROCCO

Historical capital of Morocco.

Fez (Arabic, Fas ), one of four Moroccan imperial cities, was a historical capital and the economic and cultural center. It declined under the French protectorate of 1912, when Rabat became the administrative capital; after World War II, French economic interests were shifted to Casablanca. Fez's prominence is partially due to its location at the juncture of two geographical axes—an East–West route from the Atlantic coast toward Algeria and points east; and the North–South route from the Mediterranean to the Sahara. The plenitude of water from the Fez River as well as numerous nearby springs, rich resources, and productive surrounding plains has encouraged settlement.

Fez was founded in 789 (172 a.h.) on the right bank of the Fez River by Idris ibn Abdallah, who died before his town could be developed. Twenty years later, Idris's son, Idris II, founded another town, al-Aliya, on the left bank of the river. The Berber and Arab population of Fez received a vital population infusion in the early ninth century when refugees from Andalusia (now Spain) arrived in 818 and settled the right bank. Families from Kairouan (Tunisia) settled the left bank around 825. The two rival sides of the city were united under the Almoravid dynasty, which, however, made Marrakech its capital. When the Marinids (c. 1258–1465) took power, Fez became their capital and remained the center of Moroccan political life even when Mulay Ismaʿil made Meknes his capital and then under the French protectorate. The post–World War II shift from traditional products, leather, textiles, and handicrafts to the mining of phosphates and the export of agricultural produce lessened Fez's economic importance. It must be noted that the transshipment and trade city of Casablanca was developed by Fassi entrepreneurs who moved there with the shift of economic emphasis.

The modern city of Fez had two predecessors: Fas al-Bali, the old Arab city (madina) in the river valley; and Fas al-Jadid, the administrative complex built by the Marinids, which encompassed the royal palace, a military complex, the Jewish quarter (mellah), and a commercial district located on hills outside the ramparts to the west. The third city, modern Fez (Nouvelle Ville), was built in European style to the southwest of Fas al-Jadid, and its suburbs stretch out into the surrounding farmland. Fez traditionally housed an array of social and ethnic forces—Berbers, Arabs, Jews, shurafa, murabits, artisans, merchants, notables, and the poor. These groups often disputed among themselves and with the governments in power, which often made the city of Fez an independent political entity.

The historical monuments of Fez include the shrine of Idris I, the tomb complex of Idris II, the Qarawiyyin mosque, the Andalusian mosque, the Madrasa of the Attarin, Bou Inaniya Madrasa, and the monumental gates and city ramparts. The Qarawiyyin mosque and university, established in the tenth century by the Fatimids and enlarged by the Alamoravid Sultan Ali ibn Yusuf, became a center of Islamic science and one of the earliest universities ever established. Fez also houses the Sidi Muhammad ibn Abdullah University, established in 1974. Fez's narrow streets forced builders to accent vertical facades of public structures and private dwellings. The result in Fas al-Bali is a unique public architecture. Time and neglect have, however, taken a predictable toll. UNESCO has developed a project to renovate the rapidly decaying Fas al-Bali as an international historic site, but the project has, to date, been halted through lack of funds. Morocco's rapid population growth and the rural migration to urban centers has forced Fez's expansion into suburban residential areas and bidonvilles. According to 2002 figures, the province of Fez had a population of 1.5 million people.