Historical City Fez, Morocco

Morocco is such a diverse country that each of its many cities has a totally unique lifestyle and culture. Casablanca is the largest and perhaps the most advanced city of them all and has a hip lifestyle that resembles more to that of western countries than to the northern Africa where it is located. Rabat the capital of the country is the most peaceful and well developed city of Morocco but the problem is that it doesn’t have that much tourist attraction when it comes to historical sites and museums. But one city in Morocco is a must see place for any tourist arriving in this gorgeous country and that is Fez.

This is believed to be the oldest continuously populated city of Morocco as it was first built in the eight century A.D. It was once the greatest learning center of arts and sciences in the Mediterranean Sea region and it retained this title till the late medieval era. It is also believed that the world’s first university was built in Fez and it was the only university in the world for a very long time as the most of the Europe was engulfed in the dark ages and Americas were not even discovered.

This was its history but what makes Fez a unique travel destination is the fact that even today it has retained its medieval era feel and for most extent its lifestyle. There is no major airport in Fez so you will have to take a cheap flight to Rabat if you are arriving from abroad and then take the local train service to get to Fez. The tourism infrastructure of the city is seeing a upheaval lately and more and more hotels are opening up in the city but until now its pretty basic so there is a fair bit of chance that you will not be able to get some luxurious place to stay in Fez but if you are looking for economy then there are a number of traditional Moroccan hotels in the city that provide satisfactory services at a very cheap price.

The greatest attraction of the city is its bazaars and markets where you will lose the sense of time and will think that you have just stepped in a medieval era North African city. The streets are narrow and the mode of transportation here is a cart either dragged by a mule or a donkey. You can find almost every thing in these markets ranging from daily groceries to spices to the cell phones. Cell phones yes this is the thing that will keep reminding you that you are living in the 21^st century as the Moroccans love to own a cell phone and you will find most of them talking over the phone while they commute in the streets. There are a number of museums in the city that can provide you with ample information regarding the history and culture of the city. The mausoleums of the different saints and rulers of the city are also a great attraction especially the mausoleum of Idriss the founder of the city is quite famous with the foreign tourists because of its beautiful Moorish art.