Fez, Morocco

Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco.  About 1 million people lived there in 2010. It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region.  The city has been called the "Mecca of the West" and the "Athens of Africa".

Fez is the former capital.  It is one of the country's four "imperial cities".  The others are Rabat, Marrakech and Meknes.

"Fas el Bali", one part of the city, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Fes has a football team, MAS Fez. They play in the Botola the highest tier of the Moroccan football system. They play their home matches at the 45,000 seat Complexe Sportif de Fès stadium.

 Main sights 

Fez is becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination. Many non-Moroccans are now restoring traditional houses (riads and dars) as second homes in the Fez medina. The most important monuments in the city are:
 Bou Inania Madrasa
 Al-Attarine Madrasa
 University of Al-Karaouine
 Zaouia Moulay Idriss II
 Dar al-Magana
 Aben Danan Synagogue

 Notable residents 
 Muhammad XII of Granada, last Moorish king of Al-Andalus.
 Jamal Fakir, French international rugby league player.
 Madame Guinaudeau, French cookery and travel writer.Author of 'Traditional Moroccan Cooking, Recipes from Fez'. (Serif, London, 2003). 

 International relations 
 Twin towns — Sister cities 
Fez is twinned with:
 Montpellier, France, since 1961
 Strasbourg, France, since 1961
 Florence, Italy, since 1961
 Kairouan, Tunisia, since 1965
 Saint Louis, Senegal, since 1979
 Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain, since 1982
 İzmir, Turkey, since 1995
 Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, since 2003
 Suwon, South Korea, since 2003
 Coimbra, Portugal
 Lahore, Pakistan
 Puebla, Mexico

 Partnerships 
  Kraków in Poland (since 1985)

References

Category:Cities in Morocco
Category:780s establishments
Category:Establishments in Morocco
Category:8th-century establishments in Africa
Category:World Heritage Sites in Morocco