Fes el Bali

Fes el Bali (Arabic: فاس البالي, romanized: Fās al-Bālī, lit. 'Old Fes') is the oldest part of Fez, Morocco. It is one of the three main districts of Fez, along with Fes Jdid and the French-created Ville Nouvelle ('New City'). Together with Fes Jdid, it forms the medina (historic quarter) of Fez, significant for the preservation of its pre-modern urban layout and numerous historic monuments, which have earned it UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

Fes el Bali was founded as the capital of the Idrisid dynasty between 789 and 808 AD. It was originally composed of two separate towns on either side of the Fez River which subsequently merged under the Almoravids (11th–12th centuries). Even when Marrakesh replaced it as the political capital, it continued to thrive in subsequent centuries thanks to its economic and religious importance. In the 13th century, the Marinid dynasty built Fes Jdid as a new administrative capital next to Fes el Bali.

Fes el Bali district still largely retains much of its historic fabric of market (suq) streets and narrow winding alleys, along with large sections of its historic city walls. At its heart is the historic al-Qarawiyyin University, centered around a mosque founded in the 9th century. Among the other major historic landmarks are the Chouara Tanneries and various mosques, madrasas, hammams, caravanserais and residences that constitute important examples of traditional Moroccan and Moorish architecture.

UNESCO listed Fes el Bali, along with Fes Jdid, as a World Heritage Site in 1981 under the name Medina of Fez. The World Heritage Site includes Fes el Bali's urban fabric and walls as well as a buffer zone outside of the walls that is intended to preserve the visual integrity of the location.

As the capital for his newly acquired empire, Idris ibn Abdallah chose to build a new town on the right bank of the Fez River in AD 789. Many of the first inhabitants were refugees fleeing from an uprising in Cordoba (modern-day Spain). However, in 809 his son, Idris II, decided to found a capital of his own on the opposite bank of the Fez River. Even though they were only separated by a relatively small river the cities developed separately and became two individual cities until they were unified in the 11th century by the Almoravids. There were many refugees who decided to settle in the new city this time too, however this time they fled from an uprising in Kairouan (in modern Tunisia). The University of Al-Karaouine (or al-Qarawiyyin) is recorded by traditional sources as having been founded by one of these refugees, Fatima al-Fihri, in 859. UNESCO and Guinness World Records consider it the oldest continuously operating university in the world. The Al-Andalusiyyin Mosque (or Mosque of the Andalusians), on the opposite shore of the river, is likewise traditionally believed to have been founded by her sister in the same year.

Under the Almoravids, Fez lost its status as a capital, which was moved to the newly created Marrakesh. During Almohad rule (12th-13th centuries), Fez was a thriving merchant city, even though it was not a capital. It even became the largest city in the world during that time, with approximately 200,000 people living there.

After defeating the Almohads in Morocco, the Marinids moved the capital from Marrakesh back to Fez. This marked the beginning of the greatest period of the history for Fes. When the Marinids moved the capital to Fez in 1276 they started building a new town outside the old city walls. At first it was called Madinat al-Bayda ("the White City"), but it quickly became known as Fes el-Jdid ("New Fez"), while the old city became known as Fes el-Bali ("Old Fez"). The Marinids built the first true madrasas in Morocco, which include many of the city's most notable architectural monuments such as the Bou Inania Madrasa, the Al-Attarin Madrasa, and the Sahrij Madrasa.

The Saadian dynasty (16th and early 17th centuries), who used Marrakesh again as their capital, did not lavish much attention on Fez, with the exception of the ornate ablutions pavilions added to the Qarawiyyin Mosque's courtyard during their time. They built a number of new forts and bastions around the city which appear to have been aimed at keeping control over the local population. They were mostly located on higher ground overlooking Fes el-Bali, from which they would have been easily able to bombard the city with canons. These include the Kasbah Tamdert, just inside the city walls near Bab Ftouh, and the forts of Borj Nord (Borj al-Shamali) on the hills to the north, Borj Sud (Borj al-Janoub) on the hills to the south, and the Borj Sheikh Ahmed to the west, at a point in Fes el-Jdid's walls that was closest to Fes el-Bali. These were built in the late 16th century, mostly by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur.