Fes, Morocco is not only smelly but also intriguing
Fes Old City is a treasure of Morocco’s history and culture, like a living medieval museum that attracts 🤩 countless visitors eager to explore its mysterious 😏 charm.
Upon arriving in Fes, the first Islamic city in North Africa established by Arab conquerors, you immediately get a sense of traveling through time. We stayed at a hotel 🏨 in the new district outside the old city, which featured strong Arab characteristics—towering domes and exquisite decorations made us feel as if we were inside a story from One Thousand and One Nights.
After breakfast 🥣, we headed toward Fes Old City. From afar, we saw the famous Bab Bou Jeloud, the Blue Gate. It is a landmark of Fes, composed of three symmetrical arches adorned with hundreds of thousands of mosaic tiles. The exquisite Arab arches and intricate mosaic patterns shimmered mysteriously under the sunlight. Passing through the Blue Gate, we officially entered Fes Old City, as if stepping back into the Middle Ages.
The old city’s streets are narrow and winding, like a huge maze. It is said there are over 9,400 streets extending randomly without any order. Even with GPS navigation 🗺️, it’s easy to get lost. On both sides of the alleys are centuries-old buildings, with many wooden beams placed horizontally to prevent collapse. Traditional handcrafted shops fill the streets, displaying a dazzling array of handicrafts, leather goods, copper plates, carpets, mosaic artworks, and more. Craftsmen focus intently on making traditional handicrafts inside their shops, passing down skills that have lasted for hundreds of years.
Following our guide, we arrived at the Chouara Leather Tanneries, one of the most iconic sights in all of Fes. Even before getting close, a strong odor hit us. The guide gave each of us a few mint leaves to cover our noses. From the viewing platform, we could see the large, colorful dye vats below, where craftsmen use traditional techniques passed down for a thousand years to make leather. These vats look like giant palettes, with indigo, ochre, crimson, and other colors especially vivid under the sunshine ☀️.
Fes’s “notorious” smell mainly comes from the ancient tanning methods used in traditional tanneries like Chouara, where the strong, widespread odor has become a signature “scent memory.” The core sources of the smell are:
1. Tanning formula: Hair removal and degreasing use lime water plus soaking in cow urine (about one week), followed by softening with a pigeon dung solution high in ammonia (soaked about two weeks). This is the main source of the pungent odor, mixing with the smell of decaying rawhide oils, sharp and long-lasting.
2. Environment and process: The tanneries are mostly open-air, with hundreds of large dye vats densely arranged. The scorching sun accelerates odor evaporation; all work is done by hand, with workers barefoot, and waste and smells dissipate slowly, often spreading to surrounding streets.
3. Other factors: The old city’s narrow alleys have poor ventilation, causing odors to linger; some areas have simple waste and sewage treatment from traditional slaughterhouses and workshops, which also worsen the smell.
This “stink” is a mark of Fes’s traditional craftsmanship. Though pungent, it carries the spirit and cultural heritage of centuries of artisans and is a highly distinctive experience of visiting Fes.
Next, we visited the Abu Inan Quranic School, a mosque 🕌 and the only Quranic school in Fes with a minaret. Its exquisite mosaics and carvings showcase the superb skills of medieval craftsmen. We also passed by the Royal Palace of Fes. Although entry was not allowed, the magnificent golden gates were entirely hand-crafted with embossed patterns. The walls were inlaid with blue-toned mosaics, and the exterior was decorated with green mosaics symbolizing Islam, leaving us in awe of its luxury.
During our tour of Fes Old City, we felt as if we were in a world full of magical colors. Every street, every building, every handcrafted item carries a long history and rich cultural meaning. It is like a giant magnetic field, attracting 🤩 people to continuously explore and discover, making one intoxicated and reluctant to leave.