Fes el-Bali Medina

Fes el-Bali, the old walled city of Fes, has been a centre of learning and craft for more than a thousand years. Its maze of narrow lanes, too tight for cars, is home to mosques, madrasas, fountains and workshops, and the whole medina is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Al-Qarawiyyin, founded in 859, is often described as the oldest continuously operating university in the world.

With a guide you visit the finely carved Bou Inania Madrasa, the coppersmiths’ square and weavers’ workshops, and look down from a leather shop’s terrace onto the Chouara Tannery, where hides are dyed in stone vats much as they were centuries ago.

A local guide is essential, as the medina is easy to get lost in. The tanneries have a strong smell, and the shops usually hand out sprigs of mint to hold under your nose.