Morocco
Medina of Fez
Most of the cities in Morocco have preserved at least portions of their medieval medinas. The streets in these areas are very narrow, and they are, for practical reasons, substantially carfree, although not always motorcycle-free.
In early January 2002, I was fortunate to be able to participate in a workgroup studying the medina of Fes-al-Bali, believed to be the largest contiguous carfree area in the world, qua population. (Venice may be slightly larger in land area.) Our experiences and my photographs are the subject of these pages. The circumstances of the medina at Fes-al-Bali typify the other medinas, and since Fes-al-Bali is larger than the others, we will take it as a case illustration with respect to the pleasures and difficulties of life in a medieval carfree area.
It is worth mention that many cities in Morocco have "Ville Nouvelle" districts, built during the French occupation. The new parts of the city are often similar to the older parts in size and population. The new areas were built in the post-Haussmann era of French planning, which saw wide, straight boulevards and large block replace the tangled medieval practice of narrow, crooked streets. The new parts of Moroccan cities are almost as overrun with cars and motorcycles as their counterparts in the rest of the world, but the medinas remain an oasis of peace in a world that has become noisy, smelly, and dangerous.
The Medina of Fes-al-Bali
Fes-al-Bali, the larger of the two medinas of Fes, is a nearly intact medieval city. With a 2002 population of 156,000, it is probably the largest contiguous carfree area in the world today. In January of 2002, several like-minded friends and I spent five days in Fes during the course of a study tour. We met with local officials and toured the medina extensively in an effort to learn how the medina functions today and what problems it faces.
Attributes of the Medina
The entire medina was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, with 13,380 historic buildings since enumerated in the course of a thorough GIS survey of the medina. There are reputed to be 10,539 retail businesses in the medina, which remains a prime commercial center of the city of Fes (population about 1,000,000). The city is located at 34 degrees North latitude and 5 degrees West of the Greenwich meridian. The elevation is 414 meters, giving some relief from the otherwise very hot weather that prevails in the region for about nine months of the year.
The entire city is still surrounded by high walls penetrated in a relatively few locations by historic city gates. There is only one large public square of any size, located near the geographic center of the medina. This area is penetrated by a road that gives access to buses, trucks, taxis, and some private cars. Several other gates are also open to road traffic, but in all cases these roads penetrate the medina only a short distance and end at a parking area without connecting to other roads. It is not possible to drive across the medina.
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