Gate to Fes el-Jedid
I took an optional tour of Imperial Fez. First, we viewed the gate to Fes el–Jedid. Fes el–Jedid was built in 1276, part of it as a stronghold against rebels. It included a Jewish Quarter and a Royal Palace among other buildings.
Gate to Fes el-Jedid
Gate to Fes El-Jedid
More of the gate. We didn’t walk through it but walked instead to the Royal Palace.
Gate to Fes El-Jedid
Our Local Guide
I forgot to write down the name of our local guide but I think it was Mohammed. Very nice, informative, and, as you tell from his photo, the look of a professor.
Our Local Guide
The Royal Palace–Dar el-Makhzen
Next, a view of the gate of the Royal Palace, Dar el–Makhzen, part of the Fes el–Jedid, built in 1276. It was the main residence of the sultan and it is still used by the present king of Morocco when he comes to Fez. This gate always remains closed; we weren’t allowed to take photos of an open side gate.
The Royal Palace–Dar el-Makhzen
The Royal Palace–Dar el-Makhzen
The beautiful tile work on the gate.
The Royal Palace–Dar el-Makhzen
The Royal Palace–Dar el-Makhzen
More beautiful tile work and a gold door.
The Royal Palace–Dar el-Makhzen
The Royal Palace–Dar el-Makhzen
Another view.
The Royal Palace–Dar el-Makhzen
The Royal Palace–Dar el-Makhzen
And more.
The Royal Palace–Dar el-Makhzen
The Royal Palace–Dar el-Makhzen
Arabic inscription.
The Royal Palace–Dar el-Makhzen
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
One last view.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Part of the mellah, the old Jewish Quarter of Fes el–Jedid. Fes el–Jedid was once home to 7,000 Moroccan Jews, but few now remain in Morocco as some moved from the mellah to live in more modern French–built houses and many more moved to Israel and to other countries.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Closer–up of the buildings.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The other side of the street.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
An Arab bakery.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Arab and French bread––both so very good.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The main old Jewish Quarter. We will be walking through the alleys between the buildings.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Here we go. People live here in the medina: sometimes a medina (marketplace) is just a marketplace and other times it includes both a marketplace and housing. Here it includes both. Remember this medina dates back to the late 1200’s.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Onward.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
An alley off the alley we are walking on.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Another offshoot.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
We are taking this one.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
A wide walkway. Most of the stores haven’t opened yet. We are early––they probably will open about 10 a.m.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Some very pretty housing here.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Some of the stores, however, were open. Here, selling wool.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Grains.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Corn meal.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
A woman in front of her bakery.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
French bread at another store.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Onward.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Rachid––our tour guide for the entire trip. He thought it was very nice of me to ask to take his photo––actually I was trying to show the low size of the doors in medina but I didn’t get it right. But from the size of the doors here, you can tell that people were much shorter back in the 13th century.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Onward.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Still more walking.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
An open door showing old tile on its walls.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
A tiled fountain.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The door next to the door that we walked through…
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
…to the Aben Danan Synagogue. This synagogue was built in the 17th century and was restored in 1998/99 by UNESCO and the World Monument Fund. In the photo, the men’s section.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The side wall containing the Torah Ark.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Torah.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The women’s section.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Opening to the mikvah, which is a large pot in the cellar below that was filled by rainwater and used to boil water to warm the synagogue and also for purification.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
An official from Israel was visiting. I like this photo: a Jew and a Muslim who look like they are very good friends.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
We left the synagogue and started our trek out of the medina.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Onward.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Shopkeepers washing down the pavement. Question to the women looking at this photo: Would you buy a bra and panties from what probably is a male shopkeeper and/or where everyone could view your purchase?
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Onward.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Onward.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Onward.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
A shop that is open.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Another shop.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Passing pretty windows.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
A balcony with a stained–glass window.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Another pretty window.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
A snail seller.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Egad, they are alive!
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Somehow, we made it outside to view another male–only cafe.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
However, it seems that we are going to walk back in through this gate.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Looking through the gate. In the background, you can see a crowd of women. I wonder what this is all about.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Eggs! The shopkeeper had laid out some eggs on the counter.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Cooking up donuts.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
A whole pan of curly donuts.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
An old scale used for measurements––we saw a number of these.
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
The Old Jewish Quarter–the Mellah–Fes el-Jedid
Back outside. Thinking back, I wonder if one of the reasons Rachid took us to the Fes el–Jedid first was to prepare us for our visit to the Fes el–Babi, a really old medina dating back to the 9th century, a visit I don’t think any of us will ever forget––next album.
