The walls of Fez are fascinating and in places where the outer covering has either worn away or been taken off, you can see the original stone work. Usually it is done with thin bricks, but often the wall will also contain stones and even other objects that have come to hand at the time of construction.
Every person who undertakes a renovation in Fez will have uncovered such walls and in certain circumstances some people have elected to retain sections of exposed bricks as a feature. Properly handled and sealed they can look amazingly beautiful and give a real sense of the age and style of the architecture
Every day you walk in the Fez Medina you can discover new things. Today was a Friday and so while many of the shops in the souqs were closed I decided to explore the ruins off the Derb El Hora. For several days workmen have been clearing away the rubbish and underneath have discovered some old graves.
The area is to the right as you make your way to the Tal'aa Kbira and is dominated by a single piece of the original construction - an arch and a half.
So what are graves doing inside the ruin of a house? Was it once a Mosque, or maybe the zaouia of a saint. It has been customary to request burial in a saints house in order to gain "baraka" or blessing from the location.
While we may never find the answer to why these graves were here, it is interesting to see the beautiful zellij (tile) work. It is to be hoped that whoever is cleaning up the site will find a way of protecting the graves.
If anyone has any information about this site and the graves it contains we would love to hear from them.
Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news
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