City walk · Andalusian quarter, Fez · Morocco
Hammou al-Andalusi
an old coppersmith, deaf in one ear from the hammers, wry, proud of his bank of the river
Read what Hammou al-Andalusi says
They call me Hammou, and my ears are ruined — forty years of hammering copper on Place Seffarine will do that. I was born over the water, on the Andalusian side, where nobody writes books about you. Today I'll walk you the way I walked it every morning: past the scholars' doors, through a weaver's lane, over the stink of the tanneries, into my square, and up to where you can see my whole bank at once. There is nothing to solve. Only keep your eyes open, and by the last stop you'll understand why a man crosses a river twice a day for a lifetime.
✓ Walked and checked on 14 November 2026
Andalusian quarter · 6 stops · 1.8 km
about 20 min walking, 24 min listening at the stops — going inside is extra · Tap a stop on the map for a preview.
44 min · 1.8 km · 6 stops · medium
Partly shadedBest time to walk: Morning, before 11 — the tannery terraces stink less in cool air and the coppersmiths start hammering early. Friday midday the mosque streets fill and move slowly.
The walk
This walk leaves the scholars' streets and drops east to where Fez actually works: a weaver's doorway, the dye pits of Chouara, the hammering of Place Seffarine, and finally a lookout over the Andalusian bank of the Oued Fès. A coppersmith tells it, in his own voice, with no puzzles to solve — only things to notice. Every stop is a chapter of one story about a river, two banks and a family that crossed it.
Start here
Boutouil, Fès-Médina ⴼⴰⵙ-ⵎⴷⵉⵏⴰ فاس-المدينة
Stand on Tala'a Kebira at the tall doorway of the Al-Attarine Madrasa, at the eastern end of the spice souk, a minute before the Qarawiyyin walls.
Directions
