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Chouara Tannery

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City guide · فاس Fès

Fez

A thousand-year-old university and a labyrinthine medina: al-Qarawiyyin and the tanneries

Photo: just_a_cheeseburger · CC BY 2.0

Fez is Morocco's capital of religion and crafts. Its old city, Fes el-Bali, is one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world, with mosques, madrasas and workshops hidden in a maze of lanes. The coloured vats of the Chouara Tannery are Fez's most famous image.

History

How the city came to be

Fez was founded under the Idrisid dynasty in the 8th century, at first as two rival settlements. In the 11th century the Almoravid sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin merged them into today's old city, Fes el-Bali. In 857 or 859 Fatima al-Fihri from Kairouan founded the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque here; it grew into the University of al-Qarawiyyin, regarded as the oldest institution of higher learning still operating in the world. Fez was at its height under the Marinids in the 13th to 15th centuries; in 1276 Sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub built a new royal city, Fes el-Jdid, beside it.

  1. 8th centuryThe Idrisid dynasty founded Fez
  2. 857 or 859Fatima al-Fihri founded the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque
  3. 11th centuryYusuf ibn Tashfin merged the two towns
  4. 1276The Marinids built Fes el-Jdid

Stories

Stories of the city

History · Fez medina and Chouara Tannery

A thousand-year-old university founded by a woman

Fatima al-Fihri was born around 800 in Kairouan in present-day Tunisia and moved to Fez with her family early in the Idrisid dynasty. With her family's wealth she bought a plot of land in the city centre at a high price, and on the first day of Ramadan in the year 245 of the Islamic calendar (859) she laid the foundations of the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque. The mosque later grew into a teaching institution and in 1963 became the modern University of al-Qarawiyyin, regarded as the oldest continuously operating institution of higher learning in the world.

People

People connected with Fez

9th century · c. 800–c. 880

Fatima al-Fihri

Founder of the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque (and university)

1 related places

Must see

Places you shouldn’t miss

The colourful dye vats of Chouara Tannery

Classic landmarkFes el-Bali, Fez, Morocco

Fez medina and Chouara Tannery

Coloured dye vats in use since the 11th century, in the same city as the world's oldest university, founded in 859 and still teaching.

Before you go

Rules to know in Fez

All etiquette & taboos →

Red lineEveryday mannersMorocco

Morocco: don't proselytise

  • Respect the local Islamic faith
  • Trying to convert Muslims to another religion or handing out missionary material
  • Publicly criticising Islam (including online)

Proselytising can mean a fine or up to 3 years in prison; publicly criticising Islam can mean up to 2 years.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: GOV.UK: Morocco travel advice

TabooEveryday mannersMorocco

Morocco: avoid public displays of affection

  • Show restraint near religious sites and in tourist areas
  • Kissing or hugging in public

It causes offence; same-sex intimacy can be prosecuted in Morocco.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: GOV.UK: Morocco travel advice

TabooEveryday mannersMorocco

Morocco: during Ramadan, don't eat or drink in public by day

  • Check opening hours during Ramadan
  • Dress according to local custom
  • Eating, drinking, smoking, chewing gum or swearing in public during the day

It offends people who are fasting.

Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: GOV.UK: Morocco travel advice

Sources