Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
Around Fès you can discover two fortresses that have been built in 1582 to oversee the city, the Borj Nord and Borj Sud. The northern fortress is today a weaponry museum and not far away you can discover two ruins: the tombeaux des Mérinides. What was once the royal necropolis of the Marinid dynasty is today mostly a viewpoint. From here you can have amazing views on the entire city distributed throughout the valley.
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The most important gate to the medina of Fès is the Bab Boujeloud, a gate with three arches visible from the vast Place Boujloud. It is decorated with blue and green tiles referring to the city (blue) and to Islam (green). Behind it, the Rue Talaa Kabira with its countless shops (and hidden restaurants) starts. The first important sight in the medina can be discovered already 130 meters behind the gate: the Medersa Bou Inania or Madrasa Bū ʿInānīya, a wonderful Islamic college. In fact, it is the biggest medersa of the city and also a mosque; both created around the year 1350 CE.
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The classic cover picture of guidebooks about Morocco is the Tannerie Chouara, hidden in the Medina of Fès. As it is a rather dirty and smelly craft, the tannery is located in the outer part of the old city close to the river. The skins of various animals are first bleached here in basins and later colored in the same way. If you arrive on the right day you can see many craftsmen working between multi-color water basins. The tannery is organized as a collective, many different people work in the same space and various shops surrounding it sell the products.
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The most immersive experience I had while being at Morocco was to explore the medina of Fès. A conglomerate of houses, feeling even more dense than the old town of Jerusalem. A city on multiple hills requiring you to climb up and down, filled with endless merchants and sights hidden in between to discover. Getting there is also an experience because you probably will get lost and your typical ways to get out will not work: in the narrow streets between high houses you’ll not have a good GPS signal and your navigation system will be unable to show you the right path.
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Not far away from the Place Lahdim of Meknès you can find the Mausolée de Moulay Ismaïl, a large mausoleum integrated into a mosque. Typically, these religious places are not accessible for non-muslims, but in Meknès this is different: you can take off your shoes and have a look at the mosque and into the burial chamber. Both are lovely decorated in ceramics and marble with an Andalusian-style fountain as the centerpiece. The mosque itself is actually in use and the two open spaces inside the complex are used for open-air prayer as well.
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Mohammed V is one of the rulers the Moroccans will probably not forget. He was the first to request independence from the colonizing countries Spain and France and was sent to exile because of this. After rising civil unrest, he could return in 1956 and successfully negotiate independence and the creation of the kingdom of Morocco. Mohammed V found his final rest in a beautiful and rich mausoleum next to the unfinished mosque of Rabat and the Hassan tower. He and his son Hassan II are protected by five guards in traditional uniforms.
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When leaving the medina of Rabat to the southeast you can find an unusual building conglomerate on a hill: the unfinished minaret of an unfinished mosque next to the mausoleum of Mohammed V. A tower with a large field of columns next to an important grave. In the 12th century CE, Yaqub al-Mansur, the ruler of the Almohad empire requested the construction of the largest mosque in all Maghreb states. When he died in 1199 CE the construction works were stopped immediately and you can still see that state today.
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The most beautiful place at Rabat is the Kasbah des Oudaïas. In fact, it is a combination of two kasbahs created by two different Moroccan dynasties to protect the city from pirates and serving as a royal seat. Directly at the ocean you can discover the old kasbah which is today a residential area filled with restaurants and touristy shops. You can climb up between the houses to the bélvèdere giving you great views on the ocean and the river. It is easy to imagine how this was once a military facility to protect the city. You can enter and leave this place through the historic Bab des Oudaïas gate.
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The modern mosque of Casablanca is an unreal place. You wouldn’t expect such a vast building in a city like Casablanca which isn’t even one of the former capital cities of Morocco. When standing in front of this giant house of prayer made for 25,000 worshippers directly at the sea you can’t be anything else then impressed: it is one of the largest mosques in the world and its minaret is the second highest ever built.
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The medina of Casablanca has unfortunately been destroyed by the earthquake of Lisboa in 1755. Most historic sights have been lost and the city has received a more modern style since then. A great place to explore is in fact the second medina which is called Habbous. It dates back to the year 1916 when a Moroccan Jewish merchant donated the land to the king. As the king wasn’t allowed to receive a donation from a Jew (antisemitism can unfortunately be found in many places), the donation was redirected to a new foundation. This Habbous foundation created a special city quarter with low-price housing the cannot be sold by the inhabitants.
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