The wide, triangular souk of the dinandiers, or coppersmiths, is one of the medina's largest open spaces, a comfortable break from tight crags and corners. Donkeys and their masters wait for transport work here, and a couple of trees are welcome reminders that this was once a fertile valley alongside the clear-running Fez River. Copper bowls are wrought and hammered over fires around the market's edge, and the smells of donkey droppings and soldering irons blend in the sun. Looking into the Kairaouine Mosque at the top of the square is the Kairaouine University library, once one of the world's best book collections but not presently open to the public. Opposite the library and facing away from it is the Seffarine Medersa.
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