Place Seffarine (Seffarine Square), Fes

Right beside the Kairaouine Mosque, Seffarine Square feels like a scene that refuses to modernize—and proudly so. Copper workers (known as dinandiers) hammer enormous cauldrons with a rhythm that has barely changed since the Middle Ages. The sound carries across the square, bouncing off stone walls and a stubborn old tree that seems to have witnessed it all. After threading your way through the tighter lanes of the Medina, this open space offers a natural pause: a chance to catch your breath, grab a drink, and decide which direction the city will pull you next.

Look uphill toward the mosque, and your eye lands on the Kairaouine University Library, once one of the most important centres of learning in the Islamic world. At its height, the collection rivaled anything outside Baghdad, covering theology, science, mathematics, and philosophy. Although many volumes were lost or scattered during the city’s decline in the 17th century, the library still guards some remarkable survivors—among them a 9th-century Qur’an written on deerskin, decorated with gold leaf in early Kufic script. It’s a quiet reminder that these streets were shaped as much by books as by trade.

Just steps away stands the Seffarine Madrasa, built around 1270 and generally considered Morocco’s oldest purpose-built school. Unlike later, more ornate schools, this one keeps things restrained. Its layout echoes a traditional Fassi home, with an arched balcony overlooking the courtyard and a tall prayer hall that hints at its former status. There’s no excess here—just solid design, worn smooth by centuries of students who once passed through on their way to lessons nearby.

This small square manages to say a lot in a short space: work, study, faith, and daily life, all sharing the same few steps of ground. Pause here, listen closely, and you’ll hear Fes explaining itself—with each steady strike of the hammer...