Three places a day. That is the rule I give every traveller going to Fez. Not five. Not six. Three. Because Fez is not crossed — it settles.
The medina of Fez el-Bali is the largest still inhabited in the world. Nine thousand lanes. You will not cover them all; you take a handful each day and let them fold around you. One madrasa in the morning, one tannery at noon, one rooftop in the evening.
The Bou Inania madrasa can hold you for an entire hour if you really look. The zellige, the Kufic calligraphy, the carved cedar wood. The proportions of the courtyard. The fountain in the centre. Do not leave right away. Sit.
The Chouara tanneries are seen from above, from a leather shop that opens onto the yard. The merchant will offer you a mint sprig for the smell, explain the coloured dyes, then show you his bags. A thousand-year-old choreography.
In the evening, climb up to the Merinid tombs. The view over the medina at dusk is one of the rare moments when Fez lets itself be seen whole.
“ Three places a day. That is the rule I give every traveller going to Fez. ”
