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NAFHAنفحة

Fès-⁠Meknès

Fès

The city where the house was born.

Where the research stands

Phase 1 — in preparation

Field research is being prepared. No field mission has been published yet.

Six creative leads, from dawn in the medina to the evenings of Ramadan. None has been composed yet: each will follow the RIHA protocol, from the field to the laboratory, before it exists in a bottle.

The medina plan

The places studied or to be studied, located on the plan. Houses, being private homes, are never located.

Jnan Sbil gardenChouara tanneryAndalusian quarterAttarine soukNejjarine fondoukSeffarine squareDar BathaFes Mellah
Plan: data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), simplified for NAFHA.

The places

  1. Fes el-Bali medina

    Medina · Territory to explore

    Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981, the Fes el-Bali medina is described by the organisation as one of the most extensive and best-preserved historic towns of the Arab-Muslim world. Its lanes, workshops and houses are still lived in.

    Creations: FÈS 06:30 · RAMADAN À FÈS

  2. Jnan Sbil garden

    Garden · Territory to explore

    A historic garden between Fes el-Bali and Fes el-Jdid, restored and reopened to the public in the early 2010s. Its pools and channels are fed by the waters of the Fes river.

    Creations: JNAN SBIL

  3. Houses of the medina

    House · Territory to explore · Not located, private home

    Traditional Fassi houses are built around a courtyard open to the sky. These are private homes: no location is published.

    Creations: MAISON FASSI

  4. Chouara tannery

    Workshop · Territory to explore

    The largest of the traditional tanneries of Fes, still working at the heart of the medina by the river. Hides are still worked by hand in stone vats.

    Creations: LES TANNERIES

  5. Andalusian quarter

    Quarter · Territory to explore

    The right bank of the Fes river, settled in the 9th century by families from Córdoba. The Andalusian mosque remains its heart.

    Creations: NUIT ANDALOUSE

  6. Attarine souk

    Souk · Territory to explore

    The souk of perfumers and spice merchants, at the heart of the medina, near the Qarawiyyin and the madrasa that bears its name.

  7. Nejjarine fondouk

    Monument · Territory to explore

    An 18th-century caravanserai on the carpenters' square. It now houses a museum devoted to the arts and crafts of wood.

  8. Seffarine square

    Workshop · Territory to explore

    The coppersmiths' square, where copper and brass are still hammered.

  9. Dar Batha

    Monument · Territory to explore

    A late 19th-century palace and its Andalusian garden, now a museum.

  10. Fes Mellah

    Quarter · Territory to explore

    The historic Jewish quarter of Fes el-Jdid, founded in the 15th century.

The creations

Each creation follows the NAFHA protocol, from the field to the laboratory, before it exists in a bottle.