Gates of Fez

The Gates of Fez refer to the numerous gates in the city walls of historic Fez, Morocco. Historic Fez (typically referred to as the "medina") is divided into two cities: Fes el-Bali, the larger and older of the two, founded by the Idrisids in the late 8th to early 9th century; and Fes el-Jdid, a royal city founded by the Marinid dynasty in the 13th century. The city walls themselves underwent a complex evolution over the centuries, with multiple phases of expansion, destruction, and reconstruction affecting different parts of the city's outline. Likewise, the city gates vary greatly in design and date, ranging from heavily fortified defensive gates to simple openings in the walls today.

Bab Bou Jeloud

This historic urban agglomeration of the Fez medina contains numerous historic palaces, mosques, mansions, tanneries, and madrasas. Fes el-Bali was historically divided into 18 districts and Fes el-Jdid into 7 Muslim districts and a Jewish Mellah, with each neighbourhood typically having its own places of worship, schools, baths, and other public facilities.[1] The walls marked both the physical and symbolic limits of the city (and sometimes also of its subdivisions), and as such the gates themselves could acquire added social or political significance.[2] The city's major cemeteries are also located just outside the main city gates; in particular Bab Ftouh, Bab Mahrouk, and Bab Guissa.

Gates of Fez
Map showing the names and locations of all the historic gates in Fes. Note that some gates, such as Bab el-Hamra and Bab Khoukha, had already disappeared centuries ago, while other gates, such as Bab Chems and Bab Riafa, are relatively modern (late 19th century).

Gates of Fes el-Bali
  • Bab Mahrouk: It was first constructed in the early 13th century during the rule of Muhammad al-Nasir, in Almohad architectural style. It exists alongside the Bab Mahrouk Cemetery and Kasbah An-Nouar.[3] Its name means "Gate of the Burnt".[1]
  • Bab Bou Jeloud: The main western entrance to Fes el-Bali, and an iconic monument of the medina of Fez. It was built in 1913 at the beginning of French colonial rule, replacing an older and more modest gate of the same name.[4]
  • Bab Chorfa: The gate to the Kasbah An-Nouar, a citadel at the western end of Fes el-Bali. Its current form dates from the Alaouite era.[1] The name means the "Gate of the Sharifs".
  • Bab Chems: This simple gateway is located at the western end of Place Bou Jeloud and at the eastern end of the walled corridor leading from the Old Mechouar and Fes el-Jdid.[1]:106–107 It was probably opened in the late 19th century when Moulay Hassan built the corridor. "Bab Chems" is a French transliteration of Bab (al-)Shams, Arabic for "Gate of the Sun". The name probably came from a small garrison post or fort nearby, just to the west, called Kasbah ech-Chems (or Kasbah ash-Shams).[1]
  • Bab Ftouh: One of the main gates of Fes el-Bali, located on its southeastern side. It dates from the Almohad period.[5] Near it is the Bab Ftouh Cemetery and the Kasbah Tamdert.[1]
  • Bab Guissa: The main northern gate of Fes el-Bali, dating from the 12th century (Almohad period).[1][6] The original monumental gate, still standing, has a bent entrance, but a small side gate was later opened to provide easier direct access today.[1][7] Next to it is the Bab Guissa Mosque.
  • Bab el-Hadid: This gate is located in the southwestern part of the city walls. Before the 20th century, this area of the old city was not densely built up and was mainly occupied by gardens and mansions for the wealthier people of Fes.[1] As a result, no major roads led to it for most of its history.[1]
  • Bab Jdid: Meaning the "New Gate", this gate was located at the southern end of the city near the exit of the Oued Bou Khareb (the central river separating the Qarawiyyin and Andalous districts).[1] Like Bab el-Hadid, it was not historically a major gate due to the sparsely inhabited land behind it.[1] Today, the area of the former gate is crossed by one of the only major roads that cars and buses can take into the central medina, leading to Place R'Cif.[8]
  • Bab Sidi Bou Jida (or Bab Sidi Boujda): Just a small gate today[9], this gate is located at the northeastern tip of the city (in an area where the city walls bulged outwards slightly) and served as the outer entrance to the Keddane (or Keddan) district.[1][10] The earliest gate in this area was originally called Bab Abi Sofyan.[1]
  • Bab el-Hamra: Meaning the "Red Gate" (or perhaps "Gate of the Red Lady"), this gate was located a short distance west of Bab Ftouh, but by the 16th century it seems to have had already disappeared. Its name was preserved through the name of the Bab al-Hamra Cemetery, located inside the city walls and west of Bab Ftouh.[1]
  • Bab Khoukha: Also known as Bab Knisa ("Gate of the Church"), it lay at the eastern/southeastern end of the city, just northeast of Bab Ftouh. Like Bab al-Hamra, it had already disappeared by the 16th century, leaving only its name as a toponym in the area.[1]

Gates of Fes el-Jdid
  • Bab Semmarine: This gate is in Fes el-Jdid, near the Jewish Quarter (Mellah), at the southern end of the Grande Rue of Fes el-Jdid.[1] Dating from 1276, it was the main southern gate of the city along its fortified inner wall and the southern entrance to the original residential districts of Fes el-Jdid proper. It underwent modifications in the early 20th century.[2][11]
  • Bab al-Amer: This gate originally dates from 1276 and is the main western entrance to Fes el-Jdid, located near the Jewish Mellah.[12][2] It was located along the outer southern wall of Fes el-Jdid (whereas Bab Semmarine was located along the more heavily fortified inner wall).[12]
  • Bab Dekkakin (or Bab Dekakene)[13]: Situated between the Old Mechouar (or Vieux Méchouar) and the New Mechouar (or Nouveau Méchouar), facing the northeastern entrance to Dar al-Makhzen, the royal palace.[14] The name means "Gate of the Benches".[1][11] It was originally known as Bab es-Sebaa or Bab es-Seba' ("Gate of the Lion").[1][2] It dates from 1276 and was originally the main northern entrance to Fes el-Jdid, before undergoing some modifications in the late 19th century and early 20th century.[12]
  • Bab Segma: This gate is located in the area between Kasbah Cherarda and the walls of the New Mechouar, marked by two massive octagonal towers dating from the Marinid period (with subsequent remodeling).[1][12] These two octagonal towers are believed to have been part of an entrance to the Mosara Garden, a vast Marinid royal garden created in 1287 to the north of Fes el-Jdid.[15] The gardens were enclosed by their own walls and were supplied with water via a raised aqueduct that ran between Bab Dekkakin and Bab Segma. The gardens fell into disuse and disappeared after the Marinid period, leaving only the towers of Bab Segma.[15] The name later came from a pious woman called Amina Sagma who was buried here in 1737, and has remained as a toponym in the area sometimes applied to the newer Bab Khibbat es-Smen.[16]
  • Bab Kbibat es-Smen: This is the northern entrance gate to the New Mechouar (historically different from Bab Segma but sometimes going by the same name).[1][11] The gate dates from 1886, when Moulay Hassan built the adjoining Dar al-Makina.[11] The gate is also named as Bab Moussiki in another source.[12]
  • Bab Bou Jat: The former western entrance to the Moulday Abdallah quarter of Fes el-Jdid, but closed off in modern times during the expansion of the Dar al-Makhzen grounds.[1]
  • Bab Agdal: An original Marinid gate, probably dating from 1276 (Fes el-Jdid's foundation), located at the northwestern corner of what is now the Lalla Mina Gardens inside the Royal Palace.[12] This gate, which preserves the Marinid defensive features such as a bent entrance, was formerly the western entrance to Fes el-Jdid and to the Royal Palace, but it was made superfluous when the vast Agdal Gardens, with their own set of walls, were created on its western side.[12]
  • Bab Jiaf (or Bab Sidi Bou Nafa'): No longer standing today, this was a gate along the outer southern wall of Fes el-Jdid and was located just east of Bab Semmarine.[1] The area of the former gate is now crossed by the main road for car traffic (Rue Bou Ksissat) that passes between the Mellah and Bab Semmarine. The name still survives as a toponym in the area, and one of the nearby Saadian bastions was named after it.[1]
  • Bab Riafa (or Bab Jbala): This gate could be said to belong to Fes el-Jdid[7] but, more precisely, it is located in the southern wall of the walled corridor built by Moulay Hassan in the 19th century to link Fes el-Jdid with Fes el-Bali.[1] It was formerly the site of a post or small kasbah housing troops from the Rif mountain region in northern Morocco, hence the name meaning "Gate of the Rifians" (Bab Jbala means "Gate of the Mountain", presumably another reference to the Rif).[1][17] A main road (Avenue de l'UNESCO) passes through a modern gateway there today.[17]
  • Bab el-Mellah: This gate is located inside the southernmost district of Fes el-Jdid, along its main street. It marked the boundary between the Sidi Bou Nafa neighbourhood to the east (located directly south of Bab Semmarine, near the borj or bastion of the same name) and the Jewish Mellah proper to the west (the former barracks of the Syrian archer regiments of the Marinid sultan).[1] The original gate had, like many older gates, a bent entrance and was flanked by two large defensive towers.[1]

See also

References
  1. Le Tourneau, Roger (1949). Fès avant le protectorat: étude économique et sociale d'une ville de l'occident musulman. Casablanca: Société Marocaine de Librairie et d'Édition.
  2. Métalsi, Mohamed (2003). Fès: La ville essentielle. Paris: ACR Édition Internationale. ISBN 978-2867701528.
  3. Bab Mahrouk. Archnet Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  4. Bab Bu Jallud. Archnet Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  5. Bab al-Fetouh. Archnet Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  6. Bab Guissa. Archnet. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  7. Métalsi, Mohamed (2003). Fès: La ville essentielle. Paris: ACR Édition Internationale. ISBN 978-2867701528.
  8. Planet, Lonely. "Getting Around in Fez, Morocco". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  9. Fes, Publié par. "the gates, fortresses and towers of fez". Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  10. Gaudio, Attilio (1982). Fès: Joyau de la civilisation islamique. Paris: Les Presse de l'UNESCO: Nouvelles Éditions Latines. ISBN 2723301591.
  11. Parker, Richard (1981). A practical guide to Islamic Monuments in Morocco. Charlottesville, VA: The Baraka Press.
  12. Bressolette, Henri; Delaroziere, Jean (1983). "Fès-Jdid de sa fondation en 1276 au milieu du XXe siècle". Hespéris-Tamuda: 245–318.
  13. Bab Dekakene. Archnet Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  14. فاس جديد تحتضن 17 بابا. Assabah. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  15. Bressolette, Henri; Delarozière, Jean (1978). "El Mosara, jardin royal des Mérinides". Hespéris-Tamuda: 51–61.
  16. Bab Sagma (Information plaque). Near Bab Khibbat as-Smen (the northern gate of New Mechouar), at the foot of the large octagonal tower: (official tourist signage). December 2014.
  17. Fes, Publié par. "the gates, fortresses and towers of fez". Retrieved 2020-01-07.

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