Mellah of Fez

It is located in Fes el-Jdid, the part of Fez which contains the Royal Palace (Dar al-Makhzen), and is believed to date from the mid-15th century.

Fez had long hosted the largest and one of the oldest Jewish communities in Morocco, present since the city's foundation by the Idrisids (in the late 8th or early 9th century).

[3][4] Nonetheless, since the time of Idris II (early 9th century) the Jewish community was more or less concentrated in the neighbourhood known as Foundouk el-Yihoudi ("hotel/warehouse of the Jew") near Bab Guissa in the northeast of the city.

[5][6] Fez, along with Cordoba, was one of the centers of a Jewish intellectual and cultural renaissance taking place in the 10th and 11th centuries in Morocco and al-Andalus (Spain and Portugal under Muslim rule).

The Almohads, who officially followed the radical reformist ideology of Ibn Tumart, abolished the jizya and the status of dhimmi, enforcing repressive measures against non-Muslims and other reforms.

[6][5] The decline of the Almohads and the rise of the Marinid dynasty's rule over Morocco in the 13th century brought a more tolerant climate in which the Jewish community was able to recover and grow again.

This district, possibly created after the 1276 foundation,[1]: 66  was located between the inner and outer southern walls of the city and was initially inhabited by Muslim garrisons, notably by the Sultan's mercenary contingents of Syrian archers.

[1] Moroccan scholar Hicham Rguig, for example, states that the transfer is not precisely dated and argues that it likely happened in stages across the Marinid period (late 13th to 15th centuries), particularly following episodes of violence or repression against Jews in the old city.

[4] One of the earliest such instances of violence was a revolt in 1276 against the new Marinid dynasty, right before Sultan Abu Yusuf Ya'qub decided to found Fes el-Jdid.

The revolt shook the whole city but also resulted in much violence against the Jewish inhabitants, which may have incited Abu Yusuf Ya'qub to intervene in some way to protect the community.

[6] Many authors, citing historical Jewish chronicles, attribute the main transfer more specifically to the "rediscovery" of Idris II's body in his old mosque at the center of the city in 1437.

[6][10][14][15][13] The area around the mosque, located in the middle of the city's main commercial districts, was turned into a horm (sanctuary) where non-Muslims were not allowed to enter, resulting in the expulsion of the Jewish inhabitants and merchants there.

[8][2] The 15th century was also a time of political instability, with the Wattasid viziers taking over effective control from the Marinid dynasty and competing with other local factions in Fez.

[6] In 1465, the Mellah was attacked by the Muslim population of Fes el-Bali during a revolt led by the shurafa (noble sharifian families) against the Marinid sultan Abd al-Haqq II and his Jewish vizier Harun ibn Battash.

[6] The Mellah's location inside the more heavily fortified Fes el-Jdid and close to the Royal Palace made it relatively secure, but the Jewish community nonetheless suffered disasters at various periods.

The following waves of Spanish Jews migrating to Fez and North Africa increased the Jewish population and also altered its social, ethnic, and linguistic makeup.

[6][17] The influx of migrants also revitalized Jewish cultural activity in the following years, while splitting the community along ethnic lines for many generations.

[1] During these two years the sultan forced the entire Jewish community to move next to the outlying Kasbah Cherarda on the other side of Fes el-Jdid.

[4][1] It was only after the sultan's death that the chief Muslim qadi (judge) of Fez ordered the Mellah to be restored to the Jewish community, along with the demolition of the mosque built by Yazid's troops.

[6] This also led to a greater social openness and a shift in tastes and attitudes, especially among richer Jews, who built luxurious residences in the upper Mellah.

One immediate consequence was the 1912 riots in Fez, a popular uprising which included deadly attacks targeting Europeans as well as native Jewish inhabitants in the Mellah (perceived as being too close to the new administration), followed by an even deadlier repression against the general population.

[8][22] The former shops were replaced with more ostentatious boutiques built in the architectural style of the Jewish houses of the Mellah, with many open balconies and outward ornamentation.

[8] While the population of Fez and Fes el-Jdid increased over this period, in the second half of the 20th century the Mellah became steadily depopulated of its Jewish inhabitants who either moved to the Ville Nouvelle, to Casablanca, or emigrated to countries like France, Canada, and Israel.

[6] Due to constant reconstructions, few of its buildings are very old compared to the monuments of Fes el-Bali, though some synagogues, for example, are believed to have been established at their locations for centuries (even if they were rebuilt recently).

The street may have been much wider originally and featured a large market square, but over time it was steadily encroached upon by the construction of shops and houses.

[6] Derb al-Fouqi was also home to many workshops producing the goods which the Jewish community specialized in, such as sqalli (gold thread used to decorate textiles and other objects).

[6][24] Following the creation of Rue Boukhessissat (or Bou Khsisat) between the former northern boundary of the Mellah and the southern wall of the Royal Palace by the French in 1924, this new road was lined with a new row of relatively ornate Jewish houses and boutiques which are still visible today.

[9] However, this characteristic is relatively recent in the architectural history of the district and older houses follow the same format as their Muslim counterparts, with an emphasis on privacy and a lack of exterior features.

[6] Most of the synagogues in the Mellah were merely pre-existing rooms within private residences which were converted by the owners into places of worship and sustained by member donations.

The main street of the Mellah, the Derb al- Souq (Street of the Market)
The area near Bab Guissa today, historically known as Funduq el-Yihoudi , was the original Jewish neighbourhood of Fes el-Bali . The original Jewish cemetery of the city was located outside the city gate (now occupied by later Muslim cemeteries).
Layout of Fes el-Jdid , the Marinid royal city founded in 1276, showing the Mellah to the south
Bab Semmarine , the main southern gate of Fes el-Jdid . From here a street goes south towards the entrance of the Mellah, which was oriented towards this gate.
Illustration of a synagogue in Fez c. 1879
Interior of the Ibn Danan Synagogue , established in the 17th century
Jewish houses in the Mellah (photographed in 1932 on the edge of the cemetery)
The Jewish Cemetery in 1932
Houses in the Mellah destroyed by French artillery fire to suppress the 1912 riots [ 19 ]
Place du Commerce , created by the French in 1912 behind Bab al-Amer
1916 photo showing the main street leading from Bab Semmarine to Bab el-Mellah, the entrance to the Mellah
Bab el-Mellah today
Rue Boukhessissat (now known also as Rue des Mérinides ), created in 1924 between the old northern boundary of the Mellah and the southern walls of the Royal Palace
The Jewish Cemetery of the Mellah
Tombs in the cemetery
Houses on the main street of the Mellah
Interior of a wealthy Jewish family's house in the Mellah, photographed in 1922. The decoration includes traditional carved stucco and zellij tiling, mainly in geometric motifs.
Decoration inside the Ibn Danan Synagogue