Fes el Bali (Arabic: فاس البالي, romanized: Fās al-Bālī, lit.

As the capital for his newly acquired empire, Idris ibn Abdallah chose to build a new town on the right bank of the Fez River in AD 789.

[3] The University of Al-Karaouine (or al-Qarawiyyin) is recorded by traditional sources as having been founded by one of these refugees, Fatima al-Fihri, in 859.

[10][11][12] The Saadian dynasty (16th and early 17th centuries), who used Marrakesh again as their capital, did not lavish much attention on Fez, with the exception of the ornate ablutions pavilions added to the Qarawiyyin Mosque's courtyard during their time.

They were mostly located on higher ground overlooking Fes el-Bali, from which they would have been easily able to bombard the city with canons.

[5][7] He also restored or rebuilt what became known as the Kasbah an-Nouar, which became the living quarters of his followers from the Tafilalt region (the Alaouite dynasty's ancestral home).

[7] Starting under French resident general Hubert Lyautey, one important policy with long-term consequences was the decision to largely forego redevelopment of existing historic walled cities in Morocco and to intentionally preserve them as sites of historic heritage, still known today as "medinas".

[17] While new colonial policies preserved historic monuments, it also had other consequences in the long-term by stalling urban development in these heritage areas.

[7][5] The souk streets themselves constitute the main commercial axes of the city and are home to most of its funduqs (inns for merchants).

On a wider level, the city is organized in relation to major points of importance such as gates and main mosques.

Only one major road penetrates the medina from the south, following the course of the river, and reaching Place R'cif near the center of the city, which allows access for public transportation and emergency vehicles.

In the early 20th century, French historian Roger Le Tourneau recorded that the city was divided administratively into the 18 neighbourhoods listed below.

Le Tourneau noted that the Salwat el-Anfas, a 14th-century chronicle, lists a very similar division of neighbourhoods, even if the borders and names have changed slightly.

The al-'Uyun district, which covered a very large area in the southeastern region of the Qarawiyyin Quarter, was historically occupied by gardens and rich estates used by the city's wealthy and bourgeois classes.

[5] The name Funduq el-Yihudi ("the Warehouse/Inn of the Jew") reflects the fact that, before the creation of the Mellah in Fes el-Jdid, the Jewish community had been concentrated in this neighbourhood since the time of Idris II (early 9th century).

Since 1989 a quasi-governmental agency known as ADER-Fès (Association pour la dédensification et réhabilitation de Fès-Médina) has been charged with restoring much of the medina and safeguarding its heritage.

[31][32][21][33] Place Lalla Yeddouna at the heart of the Medina has been recently undergoing reconstruction and preservation measures following a design competition sponsored by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (Washington D.C.)[34] and the Government of the Morocco.