THE CITY OP FEZ.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 143550, 15 July 1911, Page 3

THE CITY OP FEZ.

AN ORIENTAL CAPITAL. A long line of grey walls, broken here and there by battlcmented towers, and topped by the white buildings of the Sultan’s Palace and a few minarets —such Js the traveller’s first view of Fez as he approaches tho capital by the main caravan road. It is an unattractive approach, though in tho spring, when the whole country is verdant with young crops and carpeted with wild flowers, the scene is - nob lacking in charm; and on a clear day one can even see, far away beyond the city’ and the hills, the unexplored snow-peaks of the northernmost branch of the great Atlas range. It is nt the extreme* east end of a long plateau, reaching almost from the Atlantic to the capital, that Fez is situated, a fact, that explains its uninteresting approach from the west, for the town slopes away from the level of the plain and follows the valley of the little river that dashes down, the hillside toward the Sebu. Tbus it is that one sees little but its grey monotonous walls appearing on the horizon. Yet it la an ideal site for a city, and Mulai Idris, its founder and patron saint, did not err in fixing upon it for his capital when, early in the ninth century A.D., he laid its foundations. THE TWO GATEWAYS. Tho main entrance to Fez, the Bab Segma, is an unworthy .gateway for such a city, for it consists of little'more than an archway cut in the wall, with uo pretensions to size or dedoration. There is a second gateway on the right, v.in the wall that encircles the Palace gardens, through which on the great, days of the year the Sultan: rides to pray at the “Msala” near by. The “Msala” itself is a short white-crested wall, with a niche or mihrab facing the east, and is, situated only x a few, hundred yards away on the slope of tho hill, 'insignificant enough in itself, it presents on State occasions a marvellous picture. Alone in front of the niche, a solitary white figure, the Sul- 1 tan of Morocco . leads the prayers of the faithful, while around and behind, him are his courtiers and officials, the governors of all the tribes with their escorts of cavalry, and the regular and irregular troops. Such a show of horses , in gaudy silk trappings of ,every colour under the rainbow is probably unequalled in any Oriental country, nor do the tribesmen in their white flowing robes, or the “askeris” in red and blue detract from a scene which once witnessed can never be forgotten. : OLD AND NEW FEZ. . - To the traveller Fez is essentially “old” Fez—tho city frill of old mosques and bazaars, with its crowd of strange peoples and its sound of running water, its caravanserai, and its mysterious narrow streets. From the second public, square of the Palace a wide roadway brings one, into Bu Jelud, a large open space containing some ruined barracks and some granaries. It is not until the mosquo of Bu Jelud ond the gateway beneath it are passed that real -Fez is entered—Fez of the narrow streets and covered bjjzaars, Fez with its poops 'of the sunny courts of rmosques, ’and all its attractive Orientalism. .The main thoroughfare of the city, piercing it from Bu Jelud down to ‘ the great Kairuin mosque at the bottom of the hill, is called the Talaa. Motley indeed is the crowd that never ceases to move in this lopg street: rich Shercefs—descendants of the Prophet himself—and high officiqls, mounted on handsome saddled njulos. and”attended by black slaves, push their way through the foot passengers, their attendants crying “Balak“your -attention”—a polite form of “get out. of the way” ;, negroes who are so black that the high‘lights on their features shine blue and mauve: “Fezzis,” who: are so fair that their pink eyelids, fringed with yolllow lashes, blink in the glare of the sunshine. There are two structures pre-eminent-ly worthy of notice in the Talaa—-name-ly. at its upper end, the mosque and college of Bu Ainan, and, lower down, one of the gems of Fez, the little sanctuary of the Khrebolcin. These mosques -and sanctuaries of -Morocco are all for-, biddeu ground to the Christian., and tho traveller must rest content with a view of the outside and a glimpse through tho open doors. Tho principal attraction of tho Shrebelein mosque is its square tower, of uo great height, but exquisitely decorated in mosaics of tiles, arranged in geometric patterns between the projecting: edges of bricks. It is one of tho most beautiful little mosques, in Fez, its little tower, its green tiled roof, its arches and projecting buttresses form as perfect a specimen of medieval Moorish* art as exists in Morocco. A FAMOUS CARAVANSERAI. Close to one of the doors of tho mosque of Mulai Idris is situated the first caravanserai in Fez, tho “Foudak en-Najjarin.” Its gateway leading into the courtyard, with its grand arch, its panels of rich tiling, ami its wonderful overhanging roof of tier upon tier or carved wood, is perhaps the best in all Morocco. On the rigid, as one faces tho arch, is a drinking loimtam, almost a replica in miniature of the grand old gateway itself. , The interior of the caravanserai is, in its way, equal to tho exterior, for three tiers of galleries surround the courtyard, of which the balustrades'are of fine pinsheribeyeh work in cedar wood that has tin ned dark with age. The courtyard is surrounded by the shops and offices of the better class of Fez merchants, who sit and carry on their business quietly aud with’no'sign of bustle or excitement, and from time to turn/ a caravan ot camels will enter to discharge loads ol merchandise. Near by m a shaded bazaar the carpenters ply tlitMr and the whole street is sweet with the scent of cedar wood. Descending the lull one passes: the brass bazaar and enters a street of dvors where skeins of silk of every shade aud hue hang drying in the sunshine, while the dyers, almost ns gaudy as tho silks themselves, stir the great vats of seething blues and reds. A charming street it is, perhaps tho most charming in all Fez. A sleep descent leads to a bridge over tho river that bisects tlie town. Between rocky walla, topped by tall houses, the stream dashes down, turning many a little mill wheel ns it hurries along toward tho gardens below. THE ARTS OF PEACE. v High up on the southern bank of the river are tho furnaces where tho famous Fez tiles are manufactured. Whatever of tho arts of Moro'cco may have disappeared one or two still remain to-day, of which perhaps the most noticeable is tho tile work. The tiles themselves are baked in monochrome squares, from which the mosaics are chipped out by hand with tho aid of a small sharp hammer. Tho result is a quantity of small tiles ot various shapes and sizes, cut with the most astonishing exactitude, which eventually, when fitted one

into another, form the exquisite designs , of the floors, fountains, and dados of the Moorish houses. _ There is a whole district of Fez which consists of gardens,of oranges and pomegranates, lemons and apricots, where the sound of running water is always present. Everywhere are tiny streams, splashing down over rocks covered with maidenhair ferny or bubbling up in the basins of marble fountains. It is m , this quarter that the richer Fez merchants have built their country houses, :; away from' the harrow streets of the city* below, charming villas, with; open courts and arbours . shaded with jasmine. ' . Such is Fez to-day, one of the last remaining of real Oriental cities, whose, European residents do , not number a dozen, and where the traveller may spend days without seeing even a European costume. ' A unique city ,of its kind, with its population ,of ; nearly 100,1)00—a city untouched by European • influences, and unspoiled by European improvements; far more Oriental than Baghdad, and, though possessing no wonderful remains, historicah or artistic, yet full of. a subtle charm , all its own. ■