Zaouia of Moulay Idriss II

Idris II is credited with establishing Fes as a city in the early ninth century, and his tomb is the spiritual centre of it. The zaouia around the tomb was rebuilt in the early eighteenth century and its green pyramidal roof and brass-plated doors are visible from the lanes. What is more interesting on the ground is the horm: the shrine sits inside a zone of sanctuary whose boundary was historically marked by wooden bars set across the lanes at head height, inside which no animals were allowed and anyone could claim asylum. Several of those bars are still in place and you walk under them without noticing unless told. Non-Muslims cannot enter the shrine but can approach the doorways and look in, and the lanes immediately around it - the kissaria, the candle sellers, the nougat stalls - are among the densest and busiest in the medina.

History

Idris II, born in 791, ruled the Idrisid state until his death in 828 and founded a new city on the west bank of the river in 809, opposite the settlement his father had founded in 789, which together became Fez. He was probably buried in the mosque beside his palace, later called the Shurafa Mosque, the city's first Friday mosque, but the shrine faded from view until the sharifs, the descendants of the Prophet, regained importance in the Marinid period; tradition says his body was rediscovered in 1437. A major rebuilding paid for by Sultan Moulay Ismail in the early 18th century gave the sanctuary its present form, with its minaret and the burial chamber under a great pyramidal roof (Wikipedia, Zawiya of Moulay Idris II).

What to look for

• The founder's shrine - the tomb of Idris II at the centre of the city he established.
• The horm bars - wooden beams across the lanes marking the old sanctuary boundary.
• Green roof and brass doors - the eighteenth-century rebuilding, seen from outside.
• The densest lanes in Fes - candle sellers, nougat stalls and the kissaria around it.

When to go

October to April. Half an hour, as part of walking the medina.

Before you go

Non-Muslims cannot go in - the visit is doorways and the surrounding lanes. The area is extremely congested with handcarts and mules. Photography into the shrine is not welcome. Guides here are insistent.

Nearby

The Quaraouiyine and the Attarine madrasa are a short walk east.

Key facts