A brief history of Fez (3).

After passing through the Bab Bou Jeloud, you will see a horseshoe-shaped gate under the tower on the right side of the city wall. Beyond the gate, you will see a hillside covered with densely packed, blindingly white tombs. It seems that the long city walls and fortresses are the boundary between the world of the living and the dead. On the top of the hill, the ruins of the Sultan's tomb of the Marinid Dynasty overlook the city that once flourished under their rule. Now, the city has merged with the vast yellow-brown plain, surrounded by barren mountains. The grand cemetery is now just an empty shell and ruins, a place for donkeys and mules to rest and craftsmen to dry woolen cloth. In 789 AD, the Idrisid Dynasty, the first Islamic Shiite dynasty in medieval Morocco, was established, with its capital in Volubilis. In 808 AD, Idris II finally chose a valley in the Atlas Mountains as the site for the new capital. The valley is backed by the Zalagh Mountain and close to the Sebou River. In 809 AD, Fez was built and quickly developed into a magnificent and prosperous city. The king focused on developing agriculture and trade, while adopting a policy of religious tolerance, advocating mutual respect and harmonious coexistence between Muslims and Christians. These measures attracted merchants and Arab scholars from all over the world to come here to engage in trade, spread religion, and conduct academic exchanges, making Fez a prosperous commercial and cultural center. Fez is home to the largest mosque in Africa, the oldest tannery in the world, and the oldest university in the world, founded in 859 AD and still in operation today. Fez was once known as the "Athens of Africa."