Fez and Meknes

Fez has long been recognized as Morocco's intellectual and spiritual nerve center. The Arab capital of Morocco—as opposed to Meknes, the Berber capital—it is an ancient center of learning, culture, and craftsmanship, home to the oldest university in the West and the world's largest still-functioning medieval quarter, with a population of 60,000 (one-tenth of the city's total). Built in the fertile basin of the Fez River—the Oued Fez—Fez el Bali (literally, Fez the Old) was founded in AD 808 by Moulay Idriss II, son of the founder of Morocco, Moulay Idriss I. The original and the most imperial of Morocco's Imperial Cities, Fez was the nation's capital in the 9th, 12th-14th, and 16th centuries. Fez el Djedid (New Fez) was founded in 1276 by the Merenid rulers, who needed extra space for their palaces as well as a sense of distance from the population itself. The Ville Nouvelle was built by the French after they established their protectorate in 1912.