City walk · Fes el-Bali, Fez · Morocco
Abu Inan Faris
1329–1358 · a real person
a young Marinid sultan, imperious and quick-witted at first, increasingly candid, finally tender — a man arguing with his own legacy
Read what Abu Inan Faris says
I am Abu Inan Faris, and everything you are about to walk through, I either built, paid for, or lost. They say I spent too much on a school. They say I took a throne that was my father's. Both are true, and I would do both again — but I need someone to walk the distance between my palace and my madrasa, because I never finished the journey myself. Come. The hour is running.
Fes el-Bali · 9 stops · 2.6 km
about 48 min walking, 36 min listening at the stops — going inside is extra · Tap a stop on the map for a preview.
84 min · 2.6 km · 9 stops · medium
You’re walking this one before anyone at Walk & Tell has. If something looks wrong, tap Report at any stop — we’ll fix it for everyone after you.
The walk
Fez in the 1350s was two cities: the royal citadel of Fes el-Jdid, all gates and mechouars, and the older medina climbing above it, thick with scholars, carpenters and tanners. This walk crosses from one to the other in the company of Abu Inan Faris, the sultan who spent a fortune on a madrasa, hung a water clock on a wall to keep its hours, and did not live long enough to hear it run down. There are no puzzles here — only nine places, told in order, each one a chapter. Bring your eyes: the story keeps pointing at things most people walk straight past.
Start here
Avenue Derb Moulay Abdellah, Moulay Abdellah
Stand on Place des Alaouites, facing the great brass gates of the Royal Palace, with the Mellah walls behind you.
DirectionsWhere Abu Inan Faris takes you9 stops
Best from stop 1 — the story is told in order. Tap Start here on any stop to begin there instead; the guide will catch you up.
