A secret tunnel under the Fez Medina?

In our previous story we mentioned that as part of the celebrations for the 1200th anniversary of the founding of Fez, that there were various events including lectures. One that we would loved to attend is being held in the USA.

The urban planning and preservation conference celebrating Fez, Morocco's 1,200th birthday is being held at UCR with scholars from North America, Europe and Africa converging tomorrow (Friday) in Riverside for the first day of the conference. It will conclude Saturday at UCLA. According to a press release:

Session one of the conference features presentations on Moroccan policy for preserving the architectural heritage of Fez, the importance of Fez as a touchstone for “authentic” Moroccan culture in the eyes of French colonial architects, and the Sahrij and Sbaiyin Madrassa Complex Restoration Project as a case study of conservation and sustainability.

Session two explores political legitimacy and popular participation in the Royal Musalla of Fez, shifting conceptions of performance and authority in Fassi curing rites, and the textual objectification and ethnographic analysis of Judeo-Arabic.

Session three examines the history of the suburbs of Fez and the current program of “social housing” construction, the possible existence of a secret tunnel under the city, a proposal to restore the medina’s paved-over river, and a study of ethnographic change in the Zkak Roumane quarter.

Session four extends the discussion to explore definitions of the “European” and the “local” in architecture, literature, music and dance.

One of the highlights for The View from Fez would have to be Laila Lalami reading from her forthcoming novel, Secret Son, an allegory of contemporary Morocco.


But what fascinated us most was the reference to: "a secret tunnel under Fez". So we set our "secret tunnel" reporter, Lumen, on the case.

Lumen reports that according to Kamal Raftani from ADER... "In the oral history of Fez, people talk about a tunnel that was connecting Borj Nord to Borj Sud, but there is no scientific and physical evidence! According to the topography of the medina and the river that is crossing it, it's almost impossible that such tunnel has existed. However, it is possible that each of the Borjs was separately connected to a place in the medina. We find this in other cities, for instance in Les Oudaya in Rabat, there were tunnels connecting some houses to the beach."

Our thanks to Kamal.



Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news