![]() Dedicated to Moroccan arts and crafts, from zellige tiles (a handcrafted Moroccan style) to tadelakt plasterwork, the museum is housed in the former summer palace of a sultan and has a beautiful garden. The nearby Dar Batha Museum tells the story of the unique architectural and interior features you’ll spot all over Fez. There are some interesting local dishes on the menu, including camel burger, and the cafe also hosts cooking classes that include a tour of a local market to pick out ingredients - a good way to get a handle on Moroccan cuisine. Stop to sample snails or fava bean soup from a street stall, but if you’re after something more substantial to eat, head up to the rooftop of Cafe Clock, near the southern end of Tala’a Kebira. It’s best not to be in too much of a hurry to get between those two points - hours can be lost meandering through this city. Both are fine introductions to Moroccan craftsmanship, with every surface decorated in intricate tiling, plasterwork and carved cedar wood. There are numerous sites of architectural interest along the way, marked by two medieval madrasas at either end: the Bou Inania Madrasa in the south west and Al-Attarine Madrasa in the north east. A fine starting point is the Tala'a Kebira, a long street winding through the old city. First, order a fresh fruit smoothie and admire the views of the old city from the rooftop of Nagham Cafe, close to the Bab Bou Jeoud gate that leads into it.Īpart from the odd donkey, the medina is traffic-free and made for ambling. ![]() ![]() Spend time getting lost in the labyrinth of the Medina, a UNESCO World Heritage Centre, making new discoveries every time you set out - perhaps an elegant courtyard or a decrepit palace, its tiled floors and creaking colonnades awaiting renovation. It may seem like a vision from Arabian Nights, but this is no fantasy - Fez is a living, working city rather than one preserved largely for tourists, and it’s that character that makes it so bewitching. Its tangled network of lanes is home to extraordinary Islamic architecture - elaborate mosques, palaces and madrasas (theological schools) - but it’s the magic of the everyday that enchants most: artisans hammering patterns into brass, donkeys ferrying sacks of spices between the souks, the waft of fresh mint tea drifting from a doorway. To step into the Fez medina is to enter one of the greatest medieval cities in the world. This article was adapted from National Geographic Traveller (UK).
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