Sefrou Medina

Sefrou is a walled medina of a few thousand houses in orchard country thirty kilometres south of Fes, with the Oued Aggai running straight through the middle of it under bridges - which is unusual, since most Moroccan medinas keep their water in channels rather than as an open river. It had one of the oldest and proportionally largest Jewish communities in Morocco, at times a majority of the town's population, and the mellah is a substantial quarter of tall narrow houses along the river; almost the entire community left in the mid-twentieth century. The anthropologist Clifford Geertz worked here for years and Sefrou is consequently one of the most closely studied towns in North Africa in the academic literature. The cherry festival in June has run since 1920 and is UNESCO-registered. The medina is under a long restoration programme after decades of decline and parts remain fragile.

What you actually see

• A river through the medina - the Aggai running open under bridges inside the walls.
• The mellah - tall houses of a community that was once a majority of the town.
• A cherry festival - running since 1920 and UNESCO-registered.
• Ongoing restoration - a long programme after decades of decline.

When to go

June for the cherry festival; spring otherwise. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Parts of the medina are fragile and under scaffolding. There is little visitor infrastructure. The Jewish quarter is largely occupied by others now and there is no interpretation of its history. Festival dates shift by year.

Nearby

Fes is north; the Bhalil cave houses are a few kilometres away.