Fez or Fes (/fɛz/; Arabic: فاس, romanized: fās, Berber languages: ⴼⴰⵙ, romanized: fas, French: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès managerial area. It is the second biggest city in Morocco after Casablanca, with a populace of 1.22 million (2020). Situated toward the upper east of the Atlas Mountains, Fez is arranged at an intersection associating the significant urban areas of various districts; 206 km (128 mi) from Tangier to the northwest, 246 km (153 mi) from Casablanca, 189 km (117 mi) from Rabat to the west, and 387 km (240 mi) from Marrakesh to the southwest which prompts the Trans-Saharan trade route. It is encircled by slopes and the old city is based on the Fez River (Oued Fes) moving from west to east.
Fez was established under Idrisid rule during the eighth ninth centuries CE. It at first comprised of two self-governing and contending settlements. Progressive floods of primarily Arab migrants from Ifriqiya (Tunisia) and al-Andalus (Spain/Portugal) in the mid ninth century gave the beginning city its Arab character. After the defeat of the Idrisid line, different domains traveled every which way until the eleventh century when the Almoravid Sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin united the two settlements into what is today's Fes el-Bali quarter. Under Almoravid rule, the city acquired a standing for strict grant and trade action. Fez arrived at its peak in the Marinid era (thirteenth fifteenth hundreds of years), recapturing its status as political capital. Various new madrasas and mosques were built, a considerable lot of which endure today, while different constructions were reestablished. These structures are considered as a real part of the trademarks of Moorish and Moroccan engineering styles. In 1276 the Marinid sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub also established the illustrious regulatory region of Fes el-Jdid, where the royal palace is still found today, to which extensive gardens were later added. During this period the Jewish populace of the city developed and the Mellah (Jewish quarter) was shaped on the south side of this new region. After the oust of the Marinid line, Fez generally declined and hence contended with Marrakesh for political and social impact, however stayed as the capital under the Wattasids and in present day times up until 1912.
Today, the city comprises of two old medina quarters, Fes el-Bali and Fes el-Jdid, and the a lot bigger current urban Ville Nouvelle area established during the French colonial era. The medina of Fez is recorded as a World Heritage Site and is accepted to be one of the world's biggest urban pedestrian sans zones (car areas).It has the University of Al Quaraouiyine which was established in 859 and is considered by some to be the most seasoned constantly working organization of advanced education on the planet. It additionally has Chouara Tannery from the eleventh century, one of the oldest tanneries in the world. The city has been known as the "Mecca of the West" and the "Athens of Africa," a moniker it shares with Cyrene in Libya.
