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48-471: The Marinid Tombs or Merenid Tombs are a set of ruined monumental tombs on a hill above and north of Fes al-Bali , the old city of Fez , Morocco. They were originally a royal necropolis for the Marinid dynasty which ruled over Morocco in the 13th to 15th centuries. Today, they are a popular lookout point over the historic city. There is sparse information available on the site and its history. However,

96-402: A Ville Nouvelle ("New City") alongside a historic medina of Fez was thus a consequence of this early colonial decision-making and had a wider impact on the entire city's development. While new colonial policies preserved historic monuments, it also had other consequences in the long-term by stalling urban development in these heritage areas. Wealthy and bourgeois Moroccans started moving into

144-538: A dodecagonal (12-sided) dome that rested on four squinches . The dome itself no longer exists today, but it was described in Georges Marçais 's 1954 study. It's not known who was buried here either, or if the burials even belonged to members of the dynasty. The mausoleum stood inside a square enclosure while another rectangular enclosure was attached on its east side, with remains of both enclosing walls still visible today. The eastern enclosure may have served as

192-652: A forecourt to the mausoleum. This layout appears to have parallels with the layout of the Rawda mausoleum in the Alhambra ( Granada , Spain) as well the Marinid-built mausoleum of the complex of Sidi Abu Madyan (Sidi Boumediene) in Tlemcen ( Algeria ), both dating from the 14th century. The hillsides around the tombs (mostly to the north and east) are still occupied by the sprawling Bab Guissa Cemetery (named after

240-544: A fortified palace on the hill to the north of Fes el-Bali known as al-Qula (today also known as the "Hill of the Marinids"). This palace also included a mosque (remnants of which, including a mihrab , survived until modern times) and a bathhouse ( hammam ). Some sources attribute these structures, or a predecessor of these structures, to the earlier reign of the Almohad caliph Muhammad al-Nasir (ruled 1199–1213), who

288-601: A local level, individual neighbourhoods and districts are specialized for residential, commercial, and industrial purposes. On a wider level, the city is organized in relation to major points of importance such as gates and main mosques. At this wider level, there are roughly four main centres of urban activity and organization: one around the Qarawiyin Mosque, one around the Mosque of the Andalusians, another around

336-659: A new town outside the old city walls. At first it was called Madinat al-Bayda ("the White City"), but it quickly became known as Fes el-Jdid ("New Fez"), while the old city became known as Fes el-Bali ("Old Fez"). The Marinids built the first true madrasas in Morocco, which include many of the city's most notable architectural monuments such as the Bou Inania Madrasa , the Al-Attarin Madrasa , and

384-455: Is a cupola or domed structure, typically a tomb or shrine in Islamic architecture . In many regions, such as North Africa, the term qubba is applied commonly for the tomb of a local wali (local Muslim saint or marabout ), and usually consists of a chamber covered by a dome or pyramidal cupola. The Arabic word qubba was originally used to mean a tent of hides, or generally

432-526: Is more famous today), Bab Guissa , and Bab Ftouh . At the western end of the city were two historic kasbahs (fortified enclosures) attached to the city: the Kasbah an-Nouar , which still exists today on the northern side of Place Bou Jeloud , and the Kasbah Bou Jeloud, whose walls have since disappeared but which stood directly southwest of the current Bab Bou Jeloud gate. The Kasbah Bou Jeloud

480-433: Is not known exactly who was buried here but given their monumentality they were probably meant for members of the royal family. Some fragments of carved stucco decoration and an Arabic inscription can still be seen on the walls of the mausoleums, which is all that remains of their once rich ornamentation. Leo Africanus mentioned that the tombs were heavily decorated and featured lavish and colourful marble epitaphs. The site

528-581: Is the Dome of the Rock , known in Arabic as Qubbat aṣ-Ṣakhra (Arabic: قُبَّةُ ٱلْصَّخْرَة ), although this particular monumental example is exceptional in early Islamic architecture. In early Islamic culture, the construction of mausoleums and ostentations tomb structures to commemorate the deceased was viewed as unorthodox, as Muhammad himself opposed such practices. However, historical records indicate that from

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576-403: Is to prevent houses from collapsing, increase sustainable tourism and to safeguard everything. Since 1989 a quasi-governmental agency known as ADER-Fès ( Association pour la dédensification et réhabilitation de Fès-Médina ) has been charged with restoring much of the medina and safeguarding its heritage. In recent years efforts have been underway to restore more of the old medina, ranging from

624-583: The Fez River . The city is located along both sides of the Fez River (also known as the Oued Bou Khrareb). Although parts of the wall and some of its historic gates have disappeared, Fes el-Bali is still mostly enclosed by a long and winding circuit of defensive walls . These were entered via a number of gates, the most important of which were Bab Mahrouk (though the nearby Bab Bou Jeloud

672-752: The French Protectorate period in the 20th century. The al-'Uyun district, which covered a very large area in the southeastern region of the Qarawiyyin Quarter, was historically occupied by gardens and rich estates used by the city's wealthy and bourgeois classes. This is attested by the number of historic mansions still existing in this area such as the Dar Moqri and the Dar Glaoui . The name al-'Uyun , "the Sources", referred to

720-673: The Sahrij Madrasa . The Saadian dynasty (16th and early 17th centuries), who used Marrakesh again as their capital, did not lavish much attention on Fez, with the exception of the ornate ablutions pavilions added to the Qarawiyyin Mosque's courtyard during their time. They built a number of new forts and bastions around the city which appear to have been aimed at keeping control over the local population. They were mostly located on higher ground overlooking Fes el-Bali, from which they would have been easily able to bombard

768-716: The Tafilalt region (the Alaouite dynasty's ancestral home). For this reason, the kasbah was also known as the Kasbah Filala ("Kasbah of the people from Tafilalt"). Moulay Isma'il , his successor, chose nearby Meknès as his capital instead, but he did restore or rebuild some major monuments in Fes el-Bali, such as the Zawiya of Moulay Idris II . While the succession conflicts between Moulay Isma'il's sons were another low point in

816-460: The Zawiya of Moulay Idris II and the Mosque of the Andalusians . These mosques, in turn, are located inside or near the city's main commercial and economic zones. The souk streets themselves constitute the main commercial axes of the city and are home to most of its funduq s (inns for merchants). As a result, merchants and foreign visitors rarely had need to wander outside these areas and most of

864-562: The 11th and 12th centuries (perhaps connected to the nearby Bab Guissa Cemetery). According to the Rawd al-Qirtas , the founder of the Marinid dynasty, Abu Muhammad Abd al-Haqq I (d. 1217), was buried at Tafirtast, a site near Meknes and close to where he had fallen in battle. Up until the middle of the 14th century the Marinid dynasty then buried its rulers in the royal necropolis at Chellah , just outside Rabat . Sultan Abu Inan , however,

912-731: The 8th century onward mausoleums became common, propagated in part by their popularity among the Shi'a , who built tombs to commemorate the Imams which in turn became places of religious ceremony and pilgrimage. The oldest surviving example of a domed tomb in Islamic architecture is the Qubbat al-Sulaibiyya in Samarra , present-day Iraq , dating from the mid-9th century. The construction of domed tombs became more common among both Shi'as and Sunnis during

960-492: The Bou Inania Madrasa-Mosque, and the historically separate agglomeration of Fes el-Jdid. Fes el-Bali is also notable for being a large car-free urban area (approximately 300 hectares), due to the well-preserved urban fabric of traditional narrow streets and alleys unsuitable for cars. Only one major road penetrates the medina from the south, following the course of the river, and reaching Place R'cif near

1008-434: The assembly of a material such as cloth into a circle. It's likely that this original meaning was extended to denote domed buildings after the latter had developed in Islamic architecture. It is now also used generally for tomb sites if they are places of pilgrimage. In Turkish and Persian the word kümbet , kumbad , or gunbād has a similar meaning for dome or domed tomb. A well-known example of an Islamic domed shrine

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1056-523: The capital for his newly acquired empire, Idris ibn Abdallah chose to build a new town on the right bank of the Fez River in AD 789. Many of the first inhabitants were refugees fleeing from an uprising in Cordoba (modern-day Spain). However, in 809 his son, Idris II , decided to found a capital of his own on the opposite bank of the Fez River . Even though they were only separated by a relatively small river

1104-536: The center of the city, which allows access for public transportation and emergency vehicles. The city is broadly divided between two quarters, on opposite shores of the Fez River: the Qarawiyyin Quarter or 'Adwat al-Qarawiyyin (on the western shore) and the Andalusian Quarter or 'Adwat al-Andalus (on the eastern shore). These are further divided into smaller historic neighbourhoods or districts. In

1152-616: The cities developed separately and became two individual cities until they were unified in the 11th century by the Almoravids . There were many refugees who decided to settle in the new city this time too, however this time they fled from an uprising in Kairouan (in modern Tunisia ). The University of Al-Karaouine (or al-Qarawiyyin) is recorded by traditional sources as having been founded by one of these refugees, Fatima al-Fihri , in 859. UNESCO and Guinness World Records consider it

1200-686: The city (the Andalusian Quarter). Qarawiyyin Quarter: Andalusian Quarter: Both the el-Fekharin and Oued ez-Zitoun areas, which occupy the entire eastern region of the Andalusian Quarter beyond the Andalusiyyin Mosque , were largely empty of major constructions prior to the 20th century, with the exception of a few religious structures and funduq s (merchant buildings). These districts only filled up with residential structures during

1248-457: The city during this period. ) The city's original Jewish cemetery was also located near here, just outside the nearby gate of Bab Guissa . According to the UNESCO there are two main threats to this World Heritage Site : Because of the vulnerability of the site the government has adopted a special plan to care for this World Heritage Site and every building and monument it contains. The aim

1296-560: The city with canons. These include the Kasbah Tamdert , just inside the city walls near Bab Ftouh , and the forts of Borj Nord ( Borj al-Shamali ) on the hills to the north, Borj Sud ( Borj al-Janoub ) on the hills to the south, and the Borj Sheikh Ahmed to the west, at a point in Fes el-Jdid's walls that was closest to Fes el-Bali. These were built in the late 16th century, mostly by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur . It

1344-406: The city's history, the city's fortunes rose more definitively after 1757 with the reign of Moulay Muhammad Ibn Abdallah and under his successors. The last major change to Fez's topography before the 20th century was made during the reign of Moulay Hasan I (1873-1894), who finally connected Fes el-Jdid and Fes el-Bali by building a walled corridor between them. Within this new corridor, between

1392-474: The early 20th century, French historian Roger Le Tourneau recorded that the city was divided administratively into the 18 neighbourhoods listed below. Le Tourneau noted that the Salwat el-Anfas , a 14th-century chronicle, lists a very similar division of neighbourhoods, even if the borders and names have changed slightly. The name 'Adwat on its own is also used in some sources to refer to the whole eastern shore of

1440-628: The existing urban fabric and regeneration of the riverfront. The intention is to not only preserve the quality and characteristics of the UNESCO World Heritage Site , but to encourage the development of the area as a sustainable, mixed-use area for artisanal industries and local residents. The following are some of the major historic monuments and landmarks in Fes el-Bali. Qubba A qubba ( Arabic : قُبَّة , romanized :  qubba(t) , pl. قُباب qubāb ), also transliterated as ḳubba , kubbet and koubba ,

1488-465: The more modern Ville Nouvelles during the interwar period . By contrast, the old city (medina) of Fez was increasingly settled by poorer rural migrants from the countryside. Today Fes el-Bali and the larger historic medina is a major tourism destination due to its historical heritage. In recent years efforts have been underway to restore and rehabilitate its historic fabric, ranging from restorations of individual monuments to attempts to rehabilitate

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1536-405: The nearby city gate, Bab Guissa), though the graves visible today are likely much more recent. Today the site is well-known as a lookout with panoramic views over the old city of Fez, popular at sunset, and often mentioned in guidebooks and tourist literature. In addition to the views, it is also a notable place to hear the call to prayer ( adhan ) broadcasting simultaneously from all the mosques in

1584-540: The old city. The burials on the site are not well documented, but according to historical sources the following Marinid rulers (and perhaps others) were buried here: Two burials are known directly from marble tombstones discovered at the site (now kept at the Dar Batha Museum), although they do not belong to rulers: 34°4′11.16″N 4°58′45.27″W  /  34.0697667°N 4.9792417°W  / 34.0697667; -4.9792417 Fes el Bali As

1632-523: The oldest continuously operating university in the world. The Al-Andalusiyyin Mosque (or Mosque of the Andalusians), on the opposite shore of the river, is likewise traditionally believed to have been founded by her sister in the same year. Under the Almoravids, Fez lost its status as a capital, which was moved to the newly created Marrakesh . During Almohad rule (12th-13th centuries), Fez

1680-648: The presence of many water streams and sources which crossed the district and provided water for its gardens. The name Funduq el-Yihudi ("the Warehouse/Inn of the Jew") reflects the fact that, before the creation of the Mellah in Fes el-Jdid , the Jewish community had been concentrated in this neighbourhood since the time of Idris II (early 9th century). (Although Jews had also lived and worked in many other parts of

1728-769: The restoration of dozens of individual monuments to attempts to rehabilitate the Fez River . Place Lalla Yeddouna at the heart of the Medina has been recently undergoing reconstruction and preservation measures following a design competition sponsored by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (Washington D.C.) and the Government of the Morocco . The construction projects scheduled for completion in 2016 encompass historic preservation of particular buildings, construction of new buildings that fit into

1776-416: The ruined tombs are attributed to the 14th century, during the Marinid dynasty (13th–15th centuries), hence their name. The Marinids conquered Fez in 1250 (CE) and turned it into their capital, eventually cementing this status by building a new fortified palace-city, Fes el-Jdid , in 1276 alongside the existing old city ( Fes el-Bali ). Before the foundation of Fes el-Jdid, however, the Marinids established

1824-498: The site of the tombs. Unfortunately, very few remnants of the Marinid palace complex here have survived, in part due to continuous quarrying over the centuries and to more recent constructions. Today the ruins of two tall rectangular-base mausoleums with large horseshoe-arch entrances are still visible, along with the remains of other structures. The two rectangular mausoleums were once covered by pyramidal wooden roofs covered in green tiles, as evidenced by 19th-century photographs. It

1872-436: The streets branching off them lead only to local residential lanes (often called derb s), many of them leading to dead-ends. Even today, tourists are generally found only on these main commercial thoroughfares. The city's most important monuments and institutions are also located on or near its main souk streets. Accordingly, the medina has a cohesive and hierarchical urban structure that can be distinguished on two levels. At

1920-691: The two cities, were built new gardens and summer palaces used by the royals and the capital's high society, such as the Jnan Sbil Gardens and the Dar Batha palace. In 1912 French colonial rule was instituted over Morocco following the Treaty of Fes . Fez ceased to be the center of power in Morocco as the capital was moved to Rabat , which remained the capital even after independence in 1956. Starting under French resident general Hubert Lyautey , one important policy with long-term consequences

1968-541: Was a thriving merchant city, even though it was not a capital. It even became the largest city in the world during that time, with approximately 200,000 people living there. After defeating the Almohads in Morocco, the Marinids moved the capital from Marrakesh back to Fez. This marked the beginning of the greatest period of the history for Fes. When the Marinids moved the capital to Fez in 1276 they started building

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2016-576: Was also responsible for rebuilding the city walls . Another author attributes the construction of the al-Qula palace to after 1287, around the same time that the Marinids created the Mosara Garden to the north of Fes el-Jdid. While it has not been possible to reconstruct the layout and appearance of the palace, the historical chronicler Leo Africanus claimed that the palace was impressive. A royal necropolis eventually developed on this site, where some other tombs may have already existed as early as

2064-483: Was buried here. Two Marinid stelae (tombstones) were discovered near this site in the 20th century: one belonged to a young princess called Zineb who died in 1335 and the other belonged to a high official named Abu Ali al-Nasir who died at beginning of the same century. The two stelae are now kept at the Dar Batha Museum in Fes. To this day, no thorough archaeological excavations have yet been carried out on

2112-463: Was historically the governor's residence and the seat of government control. The Almohad-built Bou Jeloud Mosque still stands there today, one of the only remnants of the original enclosure. As in many medieval Islamic cities, the main souk streets of the city typically run from the city's main gates to the area of the city's main mosque: in this case, the Qarawiyyin and, to a lesser extent,

2160-498: Was interred in the Grand Mosque of Fes el-Jdid upon his death in 1358 and after this his successors, starting with Ibrahim ibn Ali , were buried in the necropolis on the al-Qula hill next to the Marinid palace there. (Only one of them was again buried at Chellah, which otherwise became abandoned.) They continued to be interred on this hill between 1361 and 1398 and then again at the end of the dynasty in 1465, when Abd al-Haqq II

2208-583: Was only when the founder of the Alaouite dynasty , Moulay Rashid , took Fez in 1666 that the city saw a revival again, albeit briefly. He built the Kasbah Cherarda (also known as the Kasbah al-Khemis) to the northwest of Fes el-Jdid to house a large part of his tribal troops. He also restored or rebuilt what became known as the Kasbah an-Nouar , which became the living quarters of his followers from

2256-416: Was probably once enclosed by a wall, giving it the form of a rawda , an enclosed funerary garden or private cemetery in the Islamic tradition. Among the other structures evident on the hill today is smaller qubba (domed structure) with a square base situated behind and slightly north of the two larger structures, on lower ground. Each of its four walls opens through a horseshoe arch. It was once covered by

2304-530: Was the decision to largely forego redevelopment of existing historic walled cities in Morocco and to intentionally preserve them as sites of historic heritage, still known today as " medinas ". Instead, the French administration built new modern cities (the Villes Nouvelles ) just outside the old cities, where European settlers largely resided with modern Western-style amenities. The existence today of

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