Oujda Medina

Oujda was founded in 994 and has been the main town of eastern Morocco ever since, on the route between Fes and Tlemcen - a position that made it prosperous and repeatedly fought over. The medina is compact, walled, and entered through Bab Sidi Abdelwahab, and inside is a working souk rather than a craft one: food, spices, clothing, hardware and the covered El Ma souk, with the Grand Mosque of Marinid foundation at its centre. Oujda's other identity is musical. It is the home of raï's eastern Moroccan strain and of gharnati, the Andalusian classical tradition brought from Granada and preserved in Tlemcen and Oujda, with associations and a festival keeping it going. The city is far from the tourist circuit, the frontier alongside is closed, and there is essentially no visitor economy - which makes the medina straightforwardly a place people shop.

What you actually see

• A 994 foundation - the eastern capital on the old route towards Tlemcen.
• A working souk - food, spices and hardware rather than crafts for visitors.
• The Marinid great mosque - at the centre of the walled town.
• Gharnati and raï - Andalusian classical music and the eastern raï tradition.

When to go

Spring and autumn. Half a day.

Honest expectations

There is no visitor economy - no craft souks, guides or English. Summer heat is severe. The frontier alongside is closed and there is a border-region official presence. Mosques are closed to non-Muslims.

Nearby

Saidia and the Mediterranean are north; Figuig is a long way south.