Old photos of Fez

Fez, in northern Morocco, was founded in the late 8th and early 9th centuries by the Idrisid dynasty on the two banks of the Fez river. Refugees from Cordoba and from Kairouan in Tunisia settled its two original quarters, and the Kairaouine mosque, founded in the 9th century, grew into one of the oldest centres of higher learning in the world. Fez was the capital of the Marinid dynasty from the 13th century, when the new royal city of Fez el-Jdid was laid out beside the older medina, Fez el-Bali, and many of its madrasas, gates and fountains date from this period.

The city alternated with Marrakech as the capital of Morocco under later dynasties and remained the country's religious and intellectual centre. In 1912 the Treaty of Fez established the French protectorate, and the French built a separate modern town, the Ville Nouvelle, at a distance from the medina, which was left largely unchanged. The medina of Fez, one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981.

Old photographs of Fez typically show the walls and gates such as Bab Bou Jeloud, the tanneries, crowded souks, minarets above the rooftops, and the view of the medina from the surrounding hills.

What the photos show

The 41 photographs of Fez on PlaceWas span 4 decades, from 1922 to 2025. 4 of them were taken before 1980; the other 37 are recent views of the same streets and landmarks.5 spots were photographed more than once, so you can compare the same street, square or building across the years.41 of the photos carry a written caption explaining what is in the frame. Every picture is pinned to the place it was taken, so the map below shows where the photographers stood.