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Fès, ville du nord du Maroc,
chef-lieu de province et préfecture urbaine, sur l’oued Fès.
Située sur les routes
commerciales qui relient l’océan Atlantique et la mer Méditerranée
au sud du Sahara, Fès est un important centre de commerce et
d’industrie (textile, minoteries, raffineries de pétrole, tanneries
et savonneries). L’artisanat y est également très actif. Le fez,
célèbre chapeau de feutre cylindrique et sans rebord, doit son nom à
la ville dont il est originaire.
La ville, dont les quartiers anciens sont classés patrimoine de
l’humanité par l’Unesco, est un grand centre religieux et
universitaire ainsi qu’un haut-lieu de l’architecture. On peut y
admirer notamment la très belle mosquée Qarawiyin (ixe siècle),
les remparts et le palais impérial.
Fès el-Bali, qui correspond
au quartier le plus ancien de la ville, est fondée en 809 apr. J.-C.
par Idris II, et compte dès lors une importante communauté
andalouse. Devenue une des premières villes du Maroc sous les
Almoravides, elle s’agrandit sous les Mérinides (du
xiiie au xve siècle),
dont elle est la capitale, avec la fondation de Fès el-Djedid. Au
début du xxe siècle,
la Convention de Fès (mars 1912) fait du Maroc un protectorat
français.
Population (2000) : 907 000 habitants.
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City
Located in
Morocco
Also known as
Fez
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Founded about AD 790 by
the Moroccan ruler Idris I, the city of Fès ranks as the
oldest of the imperial cities of Morocco. Located in the
foothills of the Moyen Atlas Mountains along the banks of the
Wadi Fez, the city was built on both sides of the river. The
east bank was established first and about 20 years later, in
809, a town was built on the west bank. The two parts merged
in the 11th century, contributing to Fès growing status as a
major Islamic city. A center of education, culture, and
religion for centuries, Fès is revered for its spiritual
significance.
Situated along the trade
routes that link the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea with
the countries south of the Sahara, Fès has also prospered as a
commercial center. Animal husbandry and the cultivation of
grains, beans and olives are prevalent in the surrounding
region The city itself has a number of textile and flour mills,
oil-processing plants, and soap factories as well as a large
handicraft industry. For years the city was the only producer
of the brimless, cylindrical felt hat that takes its name from
the city.
Tourism is one of the
most important facets of the city’s economy. Fès is the site
of the great Qarawiyin Mosque, dating back to the 9th century —the
oldest in Africa. The celebrated mosque of Mulai Idris, a
shrine so sacred that non-Muslims and animals may not approach
its entrance, is also located in the city.
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Medina of Fès al Bali
A
weathered wall surrounds the medina, or old town,
of Fès, the oldest of the imperial cities of Morocco. The
east bank was founded about AD 789 and the west bank was
founded about 809. Fès is located in north central Morocco
and was once a regional center of Islamic life—intellectual,
cultural, and spiritual. The narrow, winding alleys of the
Fès al Bali medina are lined with covered bazaars, craft
workshops, restaurants, food markets, and mosques. After
European colonization, many new cities in Africa were
built away from existing medinas to separate Europeans
from the indigenous population.
Hans Wolf/The
Image Bank
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Dye Pits of Fès
Animal
skins are dipped into natural dyes in the dye pits of the
ancient medina, or city center, of Fès. The pits are run
as a cooperative, and jobs are usually passed down within
families. While practicing an art that has changed little since
medieval times, workers must carefully maneuver themselves along
the narrow paths between stone vats. The pungent smell of the
skins, human sweat, and strong dye can be overpowering in the
Moroccan heat.
R. Krubner/ALLSTOCK, INC.
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Fès Storyteller
Fès, the
oldest of Morocco’s imperial cities, is an important religious,
intellectual, and cultural center and home to more than 1
million people (1990). Although more than 99 percent of
Morocco’s population is identified as Arab Berber, the two
groups are distinguishable by the languages they speak. Berbers
have lived in this region since 1000 BC whereas Arabs are
comparative newcomers, having arrived in the AD 600s.
Craig
Aurness/Woodfin Camp & Associates |
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