[Dec. 2025] The medina of Fez, Morocco, is said to be one of the world’s largest labyrinthine old cities.
The impression is that most of it is a souk (market).
Although it is divided into sections for each type of goods, the whole thing is chaotic.
It was fortunate that we were with our guide, Hassan; if we had been alone, I think we wouldn’t have been able to get out once we went in.
I probably walked around this area 30 years ago.
But this time we only encountered a donkey or mule once.
According to Hassan, donkeys are still an important means of transportation, though.
After visiting the dyeing and copperware districts, we peeked inside the gates of a university that is said to be the world’s oldest still-operating university.
Suddenly, in the middle of the chaotic souk, there are such important historical buildings like this.
This university is Al-Qarawiyyn University, founded in 859.
It’s recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records and other sources as the oldest university in the world.
Interestingly, it was founded by a woman named Fatima al-Fihriya.
Being the daughter of a wealthy merchant, she wanted to use her inheritance to help others, so she built a mosque.
It developed not only as an Islamic religious school but also as an educational institution teaching subjects like mathematics and astronomy.
Students didn’t sit at desks; they sat on carpets, surrounding the professors who sat in chairs during classes.
Since it’s still an active university, we tourists weren’t allowed inside.
We then visited the madrasa that began in the 14th century and continued until 1988.
This is the Bou-Inania Madrasa.
Now no longer a madrasa, it’s open to the public as a historical building, with admission costing 20 dirhams (about 1.80 euros) per person.
The opulent sculptures surrounding the courtyard are truly breathtaking.
We also saw the students’ living quarters on the first floor, but they were incredibly cramped, like a prison cell.
The green colour used on the roof and some of the tiles is apparently an Islamic colour.
It was a fulfilling walk through the medina (≒souk), but the narrow streets were crowded with both locals and tourists, and the intermittent rain made sightseeing quite difficult.
Thirty years ago, I struggled to avoid donkeys in the medina, but this time, I was just trying my best to avoid bumping into people.
I really wanted to stop here and there and browse the goods for sale, but under the circumstances, it was almost impossible.
