Friday, May 24, 2013

The Medina of Fez - A UNESCO World Heritage Center



Founded in the 9th century and home to the oldest university in the world, Fez  retained its status as Morocco's cultural and spiritual center. It became a World Heritage Site in 1981. The Medina of Fez is believed to be the world's largest contiguous car-free urban area and conserves the majority of its original functions and attributes. It truly transmits a life style, skills and heritage that persist despite the diverse effects of the evolving modern societies.

The City of Fez is built into a concave valley and the Medina was built as a walled area that can be accessed through one of its eight main gates, all fairly spread out around the city's circumference. What one finds inside the Median is a maze of zigzagging streets descending in the direction of the city center and ascending as they head out towards the walls. This knowledge can be helpful when you come to the Medina for the first time or you get disoriented in it - which is very easy by the way. 

At every corner of the streets, in every building lies the mark of traditional skills of the past. Traditional artisanal crafts are alive in the crafts and trading areas of the Medina and part of the Heritage Preservation of UNESCO.  

World Travel Art has a wonderful, long term relationship with a Fassi (people from Fes), small family run business and the Artisan groups they work with. Handicrafts from Fes and the Moroccan Mid-Atlas Mountain are an important part of our Fair Trade and Eco Friendly products offered on site.