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80-593: The Lalla Ghriba Mosque is one of the main neighbourhood mosques of Fes el-Jdid , a part of the historic medina of Fes , Morocco . The mosque was founded in 1408, under the reign of the Marinid sultan Abu Sa'id Uthman III . The surrounding Lalla Ghriba neighbourhood is named after the mosque, and occupies the far east and northeast of Fes el-Jdid. This area had previously been occupied by grain silos and open spaces where passing troops could camp. The mosque's relatively late foundation (compared to other Marinid mosques in

160-653: A period of relative neglect after the Marinid decline and under the rule of the Saadians , who made Marrakech their capital and seemed to view the population of Fes with suspicion. The Saadians' main contribution was the construction of several imposing military bastions around the city, such as Borj Nord and Borj Sud overlooking Fes el-Bali. In Fes el-Jdid they added three bastions to the already formidable city walls on its eastern side; namely, those known as Borj Sheikh Ahmed, Borj Twil, and Borj Sidi Bou Nafa'. The western walls of

240-725: A single city in the 11th century. There were once at least six bridges, reportedly built by the Maghrawa ruler Dunas ibn Hamama in the early 11th century, before the unification of the two cities by the Almoravids later in the same century. They have since been repaired or rebuilt many times. The 14th century historian Al-Jazna'i reported that the Almoravid ruler Yusuf Ibn Tashfin (d. 1106) built six bridges, which were named Abu Tuba , Abu Barquqa , Bab al-Silsila , Sebbaghin , Kahf al-Waqqadin , and er-Remila . Many of them were destroyed in

320-489: A small Jewish population settled here right after the foundation of Fes el-Jdid and that other Jews fleeing the Fes el-Bali joined them later. Some authors attribute the move more specifically to a consequence of the "rediscovery" of Idris II's body in his zawiya at the center of the city in 1437. Following this, the area around the mosque was turned into a horm ( sanctuary ) where non-Muslims were not allowed to enter, resulting in

400-508: A vast garden covering 67 hectares to the north of Fes el-Jdid and the royal palace, known as the Mosara Garden . The water for the gardens was drawn from the Oued Fes via a huge noria ( waterwheel ) measuring 26 metres in diameter and 2 metres wide. The noria, sometimes referred to as the "Grand Noria", delivered the water into an aqueduct attached to Bab Dekkakin . From Bab Dekkakin,

480-555: A vast open square on the site of the former Jewish cemetery (which in 1894 had been moved to the southeast ) which became known as Place du Commerce and which is now known as Place des Alaouites . In 1924, the French went further and demolished a series of modest shops and stables on the northern edge of the Jewish Mellah in order to build a wide road for vehicles ( Rue Boukhessissat or Bou Khsisat ; later also Rue des Mérinides ) between

560-561: Is a river in Morocco . It is a tributary of the Sebou River and historically the main source of water for Morocco's second largest city , Fes , after which it is named. The river consists of a number of different streams which originate in the Saïss Plain to the south and west of Fes before joining together in the area of Fes el-Bali , the old city ( medina ) of Fes. Over the centuries

640-549: Is also known as the Oued al-Jawahir ( Arabic : واد الجواهر , lit.   'River of Pearls'). It once passed through a flat area of marshes and wetlands located near what is now Fes el-Jdid and the modern Ville Nouvelle , before emerging at a number places. However, since the founding of Fes el-Jdid (13th century), the Oued al-Jawahir was progressively diverted and some of its old streams seem to have disappeared. The river's flow

720-516: Is at Bab al-Amer , on the western edge of the former Jewish Mellah . This is also the location of the modern Place des Alaouites ("Plaza/Square of the Alaouites ") and of the famous Gates of the Royal Palace , which were built in the 1960s and early 70s but are much-celebrated for their craftsmanship. From this point, a main road ( Rue des Mérinides or Rue Boukhessissat ) runs eastwards between

800-641: Is one of the three parts of Fez , the second largest city of Morocco . It was founded by the Marinids in 1276 as an extension of Fes el Bali (the old city or medina ) and as a royal citadel and capital . It is occupied in large part by the historic Royal Palace (the Dar al-Makhzen ), which was once the center of government in Morocco and which is still used on occasion by the King of Morocco today. The district also contains

880-466: Is the usual name given to the main urban course of the river through the middle of Fes el-Bali. This river is initially fed by two other streams called the Oued ez-Zitoun and the Oued Bou Fekran that enter the city from the south at Bab Jdid . It is also fed by the various canals that split off from the Oued al-Jawahir to supply the city before eventually ending up in this ravine in the middle of

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960-915: The Almohad period at least. Of the bridges that remain today, the Qantrat Bin el-Mudun ("Bridge Between the Two Cities") is the northernmost of them, followed to the south by the Qantrat Sebbaghin ("Bridge of the Tanners"; also known as the Bridge of Gzam Ben Zakkoun) and by the Qantrat Terrafin ("Bridge of the Cobblers") just north of Place R'cif. Another bridge, the Qantrat Sidi al-'Awwad ("Bridge of Sidi al-'Awwad"),

1040-641: The Jnan Sbil Gardens . At the Old Mechouar several roads converge. On the south side of the square is the entrance to the Royal Palace (off-limits to the public), while on the north side is the massive gate of Bab Dekkakin which leads to the New Mechouar. On the east side of the square are entrances from the Grande Rue and another separate opening for the road leading to Place Bou Jeloud and Fes el-Bali. On

1120-560: The Oued Fejjalin , the Oued el-Hamiya , the Sakiyyat el-Abbasa , and the Oued Shrashar . Most of these then split off into other canals as they progress through the city. Within each network, water channels that supplied water for drinking and washing were kept separate from those that were used to evacuate waste. The Oued Fejjalin is one of the most important divisions. It passes through

1200-541: The Tala'a Kebira and Tala'a Seghira areas. One of the canals still passes through courtyard of the Bou Inania Madrasa today. Other distributor structures, of smaller size and complexity, were located throughout this network and other networks in order to further regulate water distribution. As for the Oued el-Hamiya, it splits from the other major branches at Jnan Sbil before dividing into more branches which mostly supply

1280-691: The Zenata emir Dunas ibn Hamama between 1037 and 1049 and then further elaborated by the Almoravid emir Yusuf ibn Tashfin between 1069 (the Almoravid conquest of Fes) and 1106. From the west, the Oued al-Jawahir flows eastward along the northern edge of Fes el-Jdid, passing through the Bab Bou Jat Mechouar , through the Dar al-Makina (a former arms factory), and then beneath the Old Mechouar near Bab Dekkakin before re-emerging on its eastern side, on

1360-519: The 20th century. Starting under Lyautey , the creation of the French Ville Nouvelle ("New City") to the west also had a wider impact on the entire city's development. In the Bab al-Amer area, the French administration judged the old gate too narrow and inconvenient for traffic and demolished a nearby aqueduct and some of the surrounding wall in order to improve access. In the process they created

1440-595: The Dar al-Makhzen grounds up to the edge of the Lalla ez-Zhar Mosque which had previously stood in the middle of a residential neighbourhood, cutting off one of the local streets. This was one of several occasions where the expansion of the palace cut into the general residential areas of Fes el-Jdid. Moulay Rashid also built the vast Kasbah Cherarda north of Fes el-Jdid in order to house his tribal troops. The housing of troops here also liberated new space in Fes el-Jdid itself, including

1520-617: The Grande Rue are residential neighbourhoods, historically the main Muslim neighbourhoods of Fes el-Jdid, which are centered around historic main mosques such as the al-Hamra Mosque , the Lalla ez-Zhar Mosque , and the Lalla Ghriba Mosque . The eastern edge of these neighbourhoods is lined by the former walls of Fes el-Jdid, of which major sections have survived, in addition to several Saadian -era bastions . Some of these can be seen clearly from

1600-573: The Jewish community. Major expansions and modifications to Fes el-Jdid and to the royal palace continued throughout the 19th century. Under sultan Moulay Abd al-Rahman (ruled 1822–1859) the Bab Bou Jat Mechouar or Grand Mechouar was created to the west of the Moulay Abdallah quarter, providing the palace grounds with another ceremonial entrance to the northwest. This led to the western gate of

1680-503: The Marinid period the Jewish inhabitants, who had until then lived alongside the Muslim population in Fes el-Bali, were all moved to a new district occupying the south side of Fes el-Jdid. This district, possibly built after the initial foundation of the city, was located between the inner and outer southern walls of the city and was originally inhabited by Muslim garrisons, notably by the Sultan's contingents of Syrian archers . The district

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1760-534: The Marinids in the 14th century. The Terrafin or al-Tarrafin bridge, originally named Qantrat Bab al-Silsila, is found on the northern edge of Place R'cif. It is also believed to date initially from Emir Dunas in the 11th century, while María Marcos Cobaleda and Dolores Villalba Sola attribute it to the Almoravid period as well. It is the only bridge in Fes to be lined with shops on both sides, similar to many medieval European bridges. The river, particularly

1840-544: The Mellah also became steadily depopulated of its Jewish inhabitants, who either moved to the Ville Nouvelle, to Casablanca , or emigrated to countries like France, Canada, and Israel. In the late 1940s, estimates of the Jewish population include 15,150 in the Mellah and 22,000 in all of Fes. However, major waves of emigration after this have essentially depleted the Jewish community, with no functioning synagogues remaining in

1920-423: The Mellah and the southern wall of the Royal Palace, which today passes in front of Bab Semmarine and continues towards Fes el-Bali. The former shops were replaced with more ostentatious boutiques built in the architectural style of the Jewish houses of the Mellah, with many open balconies and outward ornamentation. Bab Semmarine itself was also altered and opened up to increase the flow of traffic. Elsewhere in

2000-433: The Mellah and the walls of the Royal Palace. This area, along with the rest of the former Jewish quarter, is also known for its distinctive house architecture, with open balconies and other features not usually found in the traditional Muslim medina. The Mellah in turn has its own main street, a gate known as Bab el-Mellah, and a large Jewish Cemetery (established in 1883) at its southwestern corner. Rue des Mérinides ,

2080-530: The Mellah. In 1997 there were reportedly only 150 Jews in all of Fes. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, King Hassan II ordered the creation of a new entrance to the Royal Palace at Place des Alaouites, at which time the now-famous gates of the palace were constructed here. Although no longer the primary official residence of the monarchy, the Palace is still used as a residence by the King of Morocco to this day. Today,

2160-552: The Moulay Abdallah quarter, Bab Bou Jat, eventually being closed off. A large garden area on the west side of the palace, the Lalla Mina Gardens, was also established by Moulay Abd al-Rahman, stretching to the old Marinid western walls of the city. To the west of these an even larger walled garden called the Agdal was established by Sultan Moulay Hassan I . Moulay Hassan also connected Fes el-Jdid and Fes el-Bali (the old city) for

2240-490: The Old Mechouar); though other scholars attribute this to Moulay Hassan a century later. The Alaouite period also saw periods of turmoil and regression. From 1790 to 1792 Sultan Moulay Yazid , largely seen as a cruel leader, forced the entire Jewish community to move from the Mellah to the outlying Kasbah Cherarda on the other side of Fes el-Jdid. The Mellah was occupied by tribal troops allied to him, its main synagogue

2320-470: The Oued Bou Khrareb within the old medina, has long suffered from heavy pollution due to sewage , the activities of the nearby tanneries (which generate chemical waste), and to being sometimes used as a dumping ground by residents. Even the name Oued Bou Khrareb means "River of Filth". The increase in pollution in modern times led to locals building walls and concrete barriers to block out the smell of

2400-554: The Oued Bou Khrareb's course, from Bab Jdid to Place R'cif , is now hidden beneath a modern road for car traffic (one of the few that penetrates the medina). The road covers the river up to Place R'cif, a large square at the heart of the medina, and the river reemerges on the north side of square. From there the river runs northeast and exits the city between Bab Guissa and the former gate of Bab Sidi Bou Jida. Fes el-Bali has had access to plentiful water since its foundation. The current outlines of its water supply system were begun by

2480-555: The Sebou River following its confluence with the Oued Fes. In the late 2000s, a large-scale project to rehabilitate the river system and its urban environment was begun. The project, led by architect Aziza Chaouni , included the cleaning up of the river, the renovation of its urban shoreline, the creation of open pedestrian walkways, and the renovation of existing open spaces along the river such as Place R'cif and Place Lalla Yeddouna. The proposal to improve water quality also included

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2560-597: The Sebou River. The various branches and sections of the river, including many of the man-made canals, also have their own names. The river begins at Ras al-Ma ("Head of the Water"), 12 kilometres southwest of the city, from a hollow of lacustrine limestone , with an approximate flow of 500 litres /second. The main branch of the river skirts the northern edge of the Royal Palace grounds (the Dar al-Makhzen ) and of Fes el-Jdid before entering Fes el-Bali . This section

2640-824: The Window") which was protected by an iron grille . A few other canals split from it as it wound its way through the district, until it finally rejoined the Bou Khrareb river shortly before its exit from the city. The canal appears to be named after the Masmuda Berber tribal confederacy that founded the Almohad movement , which suggests that it might have been constructed by the Almohads or that Masmuda families or troops were housed near it at some point. Many of these historic canals are now underground, with only some ancient toponyms hinting at former bridges that passed over them (e.g.

2720-448: The aqueduct then carried the water to Bab Segma further north, and from there it was carried further into three large square basins spread across the gardens. Also located inside the gardens was a msalla , an open-air prayer area, known as the Msalla of the Sultan or the Msalla of Bab Segma. The gardens fell into ruin and eventually disappeared in subsequent centuries, most likely during

2800-527: The city changes were less dramatic. One unusual French policy was the designation of the Moulay Abdallah quarter as a red light district . The population of the city increased significantly over time (as elsewhere in Morocco): between 1936 and 1948, the population of the Moulay Abdallah quarter went from 5,508 to 9,500 and the population of Fes el-Jdid proper (i.e. the main area between Bab Semmarine and Bab Dekkakine) went from 9,622 to 26,500. By contrast, however,

2880-484: The city, near Bab Agdal , were also given extra fortifications. It was only with the rise of the Alaouite dynasty that Fes became the capital again and reclaimed some of its prosperity. Further important developments took place in Fes el-Jdid during this period. In 1671, the first Alaouite Sultan Moulay Rashid ordered the creation of a vast rectangular courtyard in the eastern part of the palace. This addition extended

2960-413: The city, which were mostly founded before the 15th century), likely reflects the fact that this area, far from the city's main street, took longer to develop into a residential area. After the neighbourhood's development, only the southeast part of the city, near Bab Semmarine , was left as yet unsettled. The mosque's minaret is slimmer and more tapered than those of other contemporary mosques. Curiously, it

3040-466: The city. As the lowest point in the medina, the river thus acts as a collector for the city's used water. The course of the Bou Khrareb also forms the historical boundary between the Qarawiyyin and Andalus quarters of the city, which were originally two separate cities ( al-'Aliya and Madinat Fas ) in their early history before being joined together by the Almoravids in the 11th century. Much of

3120-412: The city. Sources also describe that the river, or some of its branches and canals, initially ran through the city itself. The Marinid city was protected on all sides by two lines of walls, which on the east and west ran together but to the north and south were separated from each by intervening gardens or districts. What is now called the Old Mechouar ( Vieux Méchouar ), a large walled square fronting

3200-469: The creation of wetlands (which had previously existed along the river's course) and the restoration of the river's canals. At one point the project had also proposed to end or curtail the operations of the Chouara Tanneries and relocate the tanning industry elsewhere where its pollution could be managed more safely, but in the end the tanneries were restored and left in place. The rehabilitation of

3280-438: The distribution into local neighbourhoods. The differences in the depth and elevation of the different reservoirs and channels reflected the institutionalized water agreements under which certain neighbourhoods or buildings had priority access to water, while other sites, with less priority, only received it when the water level was high enough to reach the channels and reservoirs located at higher elevations. The water entering into

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3360-408: The distributor was also slowed and diverted by small dams and settling basins , as well as by the various reservoirs themselves, which thus also served as a rudimentary water treatment system by catching and filtering garbage and other physical pollution. From this distributor, the water then spread through various underground canals across the neighbourhoods located downstream, starting with those in

3440-493: The edge of the Jnan Sbil Gardens. Here it emerges from four arched openings at the bottom of the Old Mechouar's ramparts and the first major man-made division of the river take place. This division creates a number of canals (most of them subterranean) through Fes el-Bali which eventually spill back into the Oued Bou Khrareb (the name of the river's main course inside the city). There are four main historic canal divisions:

3520-472: The entrance to the Royal Palace, was originally a fortified bridge over the Fes River set between two gates defending the northern entrance to the city. (Unlike today, the gate on the south side of this bridge/square led to the main city rather than directly to the palace, whose grounds did not yet extend to this point. ) The northern gate of this bridge was known as Bab es-Sebaa (now called Bab Dekkakin ), while

3600-429: The expulsion of the Jewish inhabitants from the city's commercial center. Many scholars therefore estimate that the move took place in the mid-15th century. The Mellah's Jewish cemetery was established at its western edge (the current site of Place des Alaouites ) on land which was donated to the Jewish community by a Marinid princess named Lalla Mina in the 15th century. Fes el-Jdid, along with Fes el-Bali, entered

3680-424: The first time with a broad corridor of walls , and inside this space he commissioned a number of royal gardens such as Jnan Sbil and summer palaces such as Dar Batha . Additionally, he constructed the Dar al-Makina , a modern arms factory, on the west side of the New Mechouar (which he likely also established). Lastly, it seems to have been under Moulay Hassan that the Dar al-Makhzen grounds were extended up to

3760-420: The floods of 725 AH (1324 or 1325 CE) and some were subsequently rebuilt by the Marinid sultan at the time, Abu Sa'id (d. 1331). Some bridges have disappeared but their names have endured as local toponyms. A study by María Marcos Cobaleda and Dolores Villalba Sola states that two of the Almoravid bridges are still preserved. Historian Roger Le Tourneau estimated that the three main bridges today date back to

3840-416: The foundation of the new city also symbolized the new era of Marinid rule. The city's original name was Madinat al-Bayda , the "White City". Its construction appears to have been very rapid, as the royal court moved into the new palace barely a year later. The Oued Fes (Fes River; also known in this part as the Oued al-Jawahir , "River of Pearls") flowed along the base of the northern ramparts of

3920-439: The historic Mellah ( Jewish quarter) of the city. Since 1981 it has been classified, along with Fes el-Bali, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Fes el-Jdid was founded in 1276 by the Marinid sultan Abu Yusuf Ya'qub . It was to serve as the new royal citadel and center of government for Morocco under Marinid rule, including a Royal Palace (Dar al-Makhzen), military barracks , and residential neighbourhoods. Before then,

4000-402: The huge noria which supplied the Marinid royal gardens of Mosara , measuring 26 meters in diameter and 2 meters in thickness. Only a few of these waterwheels have survived in some form, including some examples around the Jnan Sbil Gardens. The Oued Bou Khrareb is crossed by several historic bridges inside the medina, some of which were first built before the unification of the two shores into

4080-403: The layout of Fes el-Jdid appears complicated due to the multiple expansions and modifications of its districts and of the Royal Palace ( Dar al-Makhzen ) over the centuries. The area of the Dar al-Makhzen alone occupies about 80 hectares and is the largest division of the city within its walls. Approaching from the west (from the modern Ville Nouvelle or "New City"), the city's main entrance

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4160-524: The main center of power and government in Fes had been the Kasbah Bou Jeloud on the western edge of the old city (at the location of the still extant Bou Jeloud Mosque , near Bab Bou Jeloud gate). The decision to create a new and highly fortified citadel separate from the old city (Fes el-Bali), may have reflected a continuous wariness of Moroccan rulers towards the highly independent and sometimes restive population of Fes. Another reason for building

4240-464: The main street for road vehicles, passes in front of Bab Semmarine , a monumental gate which constitutes the southern entrance to Fes el-Jdid proper. From this gate, a main street known as the Grande Rue de Fès el-Jdid , lined with shops and markets, runs north to northwest until it reaches the Old Mechouar , the fortified square fronting the historic entrance to the Dar al-Makhzen. On either side of

4320-428: The main street, now called the Grande Rue ), the Lalla az-Zhar Mosque (to the southwest) and the Lalla Ghriba Mosque (further east). Abu Yusuf Ya'qub had also wished to create a vast pleasure garden hut he died in 1286 before this could be accomplished. His son and successor, Abu Ya'qub Yusuf , carried out the work instead in 1287. He enlisted an Andalusian engineer, Ibn al-Hajj from Seville , to help create

4400-487: The mid-14th century the Jews of Fes were still living in Fes el-Bali but that by the end of the 16th century they were well-established in the Mellah of Fes el-Jdid. Some authors argue that the transfer likely happened in stages across the Marinid period, particularly following episodes of violence or repression against Jews in the old city. The urban fabric of the Mellah appears to have developed progressively and it's possible that

4480-557: The most picturesque, being located amidst a stretch of rocky rapids . María Marcos Cobaleda and Dolores Villalba Sola attribute it to the Almoravid period. It has a span composed of three arches but only the central one is still visible today. The Sebbaghin Bridge, also known as the Khrashfiyin Bridge (or Khrachfiyine in French transliteration ), is believed to have been originally built by Dunas ibn Hamama and restored or rebuilt by

4560-465: The name Qantrat Bou Rous along a part of Tala'a Kebira ). These canals and streams also feed a number of industries such as the historic tanneries of the city, the most famous of which are the Chouara Tanneries . A large number of waterwheels (known as noria s or sometimes as saqiyya s) were located throughout the city's water network in order to assist in water distribution or to power certain industries. Some of these were very large, such as

4640-492: The neglect of Fes throughout the Saadian period (16th–17th centuries), but traces of its structures have survived to modern times. The site of the garden is now mostly occupied by the large Bab Segma Cemetery (probably dating from the time of Moulay Rashid ), inside of which the outline of some of the original basins can still be discerned. Fes also hosted the largest and one of the oldest Jewish communities in Morocco . During

4720-540: The new city was that the Almohad kasbahs, which were strictly military compounds, lacked the space required to establish a royal court and to house the Marinid troops. Moreover, by this time Aby Yusuf Ya'qub had also conquered Marrakesh (1269) and defeated the last Almohad holdouts in Tinmal (1275). Building a new palace-city was a frequent preoccupation of North African and Andalusi dynasties wishing to demonstrate their power, and so

4800-499: The north part of the Jnan Sbil Gardens and through the Dar al-Beida Palace , before splitting into more branches. One branch goes south but has mostly disappeared today. The other, the Oued el-Lemtiyyin, continues northeastwards toward the Bou Jeloud area and supplied the northern parts of the city. Just after it enters the city walls, the water of the Oued el-Lemtiyyin is collected by a large distributor structure located adjacent to

4880-527: The northwest as well. This is also where western extensions were made of the Royal Palace. In the early 20th century, during the French Protectorate (1912–1956), it was designated a red-light district . West of this district there are the more recent extensions of the Royal Palace: a large square or open space known as Bab Bou Jat Mechouar, and beyond this vast walled gardens of the Agdal (off-limits to

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4960-474: The northwestern area which became the new Moulay Abdallah neighbourhood from the early 18th century onwards. This is where Sultan Moulay Abdallah (ruled between 1729 and 1757) erected a large mosque and royal necropolis for the Alaouite dynasty. Abdallah's successor, Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah (ruled 1748 and 1757–1790), was responsible, according to some sources, for establishing the New Mechouar (north of

5040-410: The palace grounds, was built around 1276 during the new city's foundation, and was connected by a private passage directly to the palace, allowing the sultan to come and go for prayers. The main Muslim neighbourhoods to the east of the Dar al-Makhzen appear to have developed progressively over the Marinid period and were each centered around their own main mosque, such as the al-Hamra Mosque (located on

5120-444: The public). The following are some of the major historic landmarks and monuments in or around Fes el-Jdid. Fes el-Jdid is surrounded and divided in many areas by its old city walls and the walls of the Royal Palace, all dating now from various periods. Along these walls are also several bastions and monumental gates. Oued Fes The Oued Fes ( Arabic : واد فاس , lit.   'River of Fes') or Fez River

5200-488: The river has been split and diverted into a multitude of canals that distributed water across the city and once powered a number of historic waterwheels . These various water channels converge into the Oued Bou Khrareb which runs through the middle of the old city and historically divided the Qarawiyyin and Andalusiyyin quarters. After the river leaves the city it runs eastwards for a short distance before joining

5280-496: The river, and more recently the city authorities had begun covering the exposed parts of the river with concrete slabs, which only led to more garbage piling up on top of this. The waste of the tanning industry and other activities also led to toxic chemicals, particularly high levels of Chromium , accumulating in the soil and the water. Although it is believed that this does not affect the city's drinking water (which comes from upstream), it creates problems for sites downstream along

5360-481: The south gate of the Old Mechouar, thus turning it into the main entrance of the palace, diverting the northern end of the main street of Fes el-Jdid, and cutting off the Moulay Abdallah district from the rest of the city. The Oued Fes, which flowed just outside the northern walls of the city, was diverted northward in the course of these 19th-century expansions, but continues to pass under the Old Mechouar before reemerging on its east side. In 1912 French colonial rule

5440-433: The south side of Bab Bou Jeloud gate. The structure is made of brick and rammed earth . It originally dates from the Almoravid period, although the wall on its west side is part of the Almohad city walls and some hydraulic features likely underwent modifications over the years as the city developed or the agreements regulating water distribution changed. It has three arched openings that lead into vaulted chambers under

5520-522: The southern gate was known as the Bab al-Qantara ("Gate of the Bridge") or Bab al-Oued ("Gate of the River"). The relative importance of this northern entrance was likely due to the presence of the road to Meknes (the closest major city). From Bab al-Qantara the city's main street (now known as the Grande Rue de Fes el Jdid ) ran directly to the southern gate, Bab 'Oyun Sanhaja (now called Bab Semmarine ). The Grand Mosque of Fes el-Jdid , adjacent to

5600-506: The southern parts of the city. One of its branches also once supplied, via an aqueduct, the Andalus quarter on the opposite shore of the Bou Khrareb river. The two last branches, Sakiyyat al-Abbasa and the Oued Shrashar, supplied the regions near Bab al-Hadid and the gardens between Fes el-Jdid and Fes el-Bali. In addition to this western network of canals coming from the Oued al-Jawahir,

5680-598: The streams to the south of the city (which also formed the beginning of the Bou Khrareb River) fed an entirely separate but important canal called the Oued Masmuda . This canal, further east, supplied water for most of the Andalus quarter of Fes on the southeast side of the Bou Khrareb river. It begins to the south of the city and passed through the old city walls through a culvert opening called Bab ash-Shobbak ("Gate of

5760-438: The wall from which the water then emerges on the other side into three open-air channels or "zones", located at different elevations. The middle zone consists of a large reservoir that feeds water into three underground canals on its eastern side. The two other zones, located on higher ground on either side of this, received lesser amounts of water but were more complex, consisting of multiple small basins and channels that regulated

5840-505: The west side of the square, a small gateway constitutes the main access to the Moulay Abdallah quarter, via a winding road which also passes the Grand Mosque of Fes el-Jdid (the city's historic royal mosque). The Fes River still flows beneath the Old Mechouar, and reemerges on its east side into the Jnan Sbil Gardens. The Moulay Abdallah quarter is centered around the large 18th-century Moulay Abdallah Mosque . It has another entrance to

5920-510: Was instituted over Morocco following the Treaty of Fes . One immediate consequence was the 1912 riots in Fes, a popular uprising which included deadly attacks targeting Europeans as well as native Jewish inhabitants in the Mellah, followed by an even deadlier repression. Fes and its Dar al-Makhzen ceased to be the center of power in Morocco as the capital was moved to Rabat . A number of social and physical changes took place at this period and across

6000-483: Was known as Hims , named after Homs in Syria, or by the name Mellah ( Arabic : ملاح , lit.   'salt'), due to either a saltwater source or a former salt warehouse in the area. The latter name was later retained as the name of the Jewish quarter. This was the first " mellah " in Morocco; a name and phenomenon that came to be replicated in many other cities in the country. (A notable exception to this

6080-408: Was once located further south, in an area where the river is now covered by a paved road. Traditionally, the three most important bridges were those of Bin el-Mudun , Terrafin , and Sidi al-'Awwad , each of which were located along a major thoroughfare of the Andalus quarter (the eastern shore). The Bin el-Mudun Bridge, believed to date from the time of Dunas ibn Hamama, was considered one of

6160-489: Was re-engineered to provide water for the Royal Palace complex and a succession of royal gardens such as the Mosara Gardens of the Marinids (now disappeared) and the 19th-century Jnan Sbil Gardens (still extant), before continuing towards Fes el-Bali, where it is distributed across an extensive network of man-made streams and canals which end up at the Oued Bou Khrareb. Oued Bou Khrareb (or sometimes Oued el-Kbir )

6240-414: Was replaced by a mosque, and the Jewish cemetery and its contents were moved to a cemetery near Bab Guissa. Moreover, Moulay Yazid permanently reduced the size of the Mellah district by demolishing the old city walls around it and rebuilding them along a much shorter perimeter we see today. It was only after the sultan's death that the chief Muslim qadi (judge) of Fes ordered the Mellah to be restored to

6320-608: Was the nearby town of Sefrou . ) Both the exact reasons and the exact date for the creation of the Jewish Mellah of Fes are debated by scholars. Broader political motivations for moving the Jewish community to Fes el-Jdid, closer to the royal palace, may have included the Marinid rulers' desire to take more direct advantage (or control) of their merchant and artisan skills and of their commercial relations with Jewish communities in other countries (which could act as an avenue for foreign relations ). Historical accounts confirm that in

6400-571: Was used as a reference point for the orientation of the main avenue (Avenue Hassan II today) of the Ville Nouvelle (New City) of Fes when it was being built under the French colonial governor Lyautey in 1916. This article about a mosque or other Islamic place of worship in Morocco is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Fes Jdid Fes Jdid or Fes el-Jdid ( Arabic : فاس الجديد , lit.   'New Fez')

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