FEZ

Fez, courtesy, Berber Dream Tours

Fez is the second largest city in Morocco after Casablanca with a population of 1.4 million (2014). It is located in the northern part of the country (northeast of the Atlas Mountains) and serves as the capital of the Fez-Meknes administrative region. It is also centrally located among most Moroccan population centers. Even though Fez is often described as an “Arab” city, it is, in fact, approximately 33% indigenous Berber, of various tribes. In addition, there are the so-called “Arabized Berbers” who make up approximately 54% of the population. They are either of mixed Arab and Berber ancestry, or Berbers who have taken on Arab culture and identity. Either way, the Arabized Berbers despise their own indigenous Berber identity and identify more with the occupying Arabs. Just as there are self-hating Jews in the world, so there are self-hating Berbers.

The foundation of the city of Fez is said to have been established by the Arab Idrisid dynasty in 789 but named after the Berber banu Fazaz tribe who inhabited the site. Berber emigration to the city occurred from Muslim Spain, a.k.a. Andalusia, in 817–818 after they were expelled after a rebellion against the ruling Arab Umayyad dynasty of Córdoba. They established the Adwat Al Andalus quarter of the city. However, they were followed by 2000 Arab families of colonists from Kairouan (modern Tunisia) after another rebellion in 824 and who established the Adwat Al Qarawiyyin quarter.

In the 10th century, Fez, which at that time, was ruled by the Berber Zenatas, was contested by the Arab Ummayads of Spanish Cordoba and the Idrisids on the one hand, and the Arab Fatimid Caliphate of Tunisia on the other. The Fatimids proved victorious and took the city in 927, expelled the Idrisids, and installed the Berber Miknasa, a branch of the Zenata, over the city. The Miknasa were, in turn, driven out in 980 by the Berber Maghrawa, another branch of the Zenata and ally of Córdoba. It was in this period that the Andalusian ruler Almanzor commissioned the Maghrawa, under their emir Dunas al Maghrawi, to rebuild and refurnish the Al-Kairouan mosque, giving it much of its current appearance.

In 1070, the Berber Almoravid dynasty under ibn Tashfin conquered the city and great Islamic works were initiated throughout the city and their domain. Under Almoravid patronage the largest expansion and renovation of the al-Kairouan Mosque took place (1134-1143) and Fez also acquired a reputation for Maliki legal scholarship; the works of Abu Imran al Fassi were well known. The city also became an important centre of trade. Almoravid impact on the city's structure was such that the second Almoravid ruler, Yusuf ibn Tashfin, is often considered to be the second founder of Fez.

Like many Moroccan cities, Fez was greatly enlarged during the Berber Almohad Caliphate and saw its previously dominating rural aspect lessen. At the start of the 13th century they broke down the Idrisid city walls and constructed new ones, which covered a much wider space. These Almohad walls exist to this day as the outline of Fes el Bali quarter. Under Almohad rule the city grew to become one of the largest in the world with an estimated population of 200,000.

In 1250, Fez became capital of the Berber Marinid Sultanate. In 1276, the Marinid Sultan Abu Yusuf Yacub, who was known as a tolerant ruler who personally intervened to prevent the attempted annihilation of the local Jewish community after a massacre that took place there, established the neighborhood of Fes Jdid which he made the dynasty’s administrative and military center. Fez reached its golden age during this time attracting Berber villagers from the surrounding area. The ruling dynasty initiated numerous building projects in the city, such as the madrasas: the Saffarin (the first), Al Attarine, Mesbahiyya, Sahrij, and the Bou Inania; and mosques: the Great Mosque of Fes Jdid built in 1279, the Abu al Hassan, the Chrabliyine beginning in 1342, the al-Hamra from 1350, the Lala Ghariba in Fes Jdid, and the Bab Guissa from the reign of Abu al-Hassan (1331-1351) (modified in later centuries). Other projects included^, the Dar al Magana water clock. The city also became a major travel destination and throughout this period, was often visited by great Islamic Berber scholars such as Ibn Batuta in the 14^th century. The Marinids also spread the teachings of the former Arab ruler Idris I and encouraged sharifism, financing sharifian families as a way to legitimize their (in essence secular) rule. Soon, hundreds of families throughout Morocco claimed descent from Idris I, especially in Fez and the nearby Rif mountains.

The Moroccan Revolt in 1465 eventually resulted in the overthrow of the last Marinid sultan nine years later. The dynasty was then replaced by their relatives, the Wattasids, who faithfully (but for a large part unsuccessfully) continued Marinid policies. By 1549, the Arab Saadi dynasty overthrew the Wattasids. In 1576, Fez was briefly conquered by the Ottoman Turks with the help of their Arab allies. Fez remained however under Saadi rule til the present day. During this time period, the indigenous Berbers were often relegated to second class citizenship, their practice of Islam notwithstanding. In fact, as relatively recent as 1912, when Morocco had just come under French rule, the student body at the University of Al Qaraouiyyin, founded by Arabs in the 9^th century, were strictly segregated between Arab and Berber students. During the French and Spanish occupation of Morocco in the early 20^th centuries, the Berbers of Fez, as with the rest of Morocco, were at the forefront of the fight for independence. Their contributions to Moroccan independence and society still did not improve their situation and only recently, was the Berber language even recognized.

Indigenous sites in Fez (aside from those mentioned above) include:

The Bab el Amer Gate leading to the Fes Jdid quarter;

The Bab Bou Jeloud Gate built in the 12^th century, gives access to the main street leading to the Al Qarawiyyin;

Nearby is the former Almoravid citadel;

The Chouara Tannery;

The tombs of the Marinids built in the 14^th century;

Coin Berber rug shop in the Medina;

And the Al Batha Museum founded by the Berber writer Ahmed Sefrioui.