Lincoln Hotel in Casa to be renovated

The legendary Lincoln hotel of Casablanca, located in the historic centre of the economic metropolis, is scheduled to start renovation in 2019. The French group Réalités International say the cost is estimated at 150 million dirhams and the work will last two and a half years

The Lincoln Hotel on Mohammed V Avenue (then Avenue de la Gare) in Casablanca was designed in 1916 by the French architect Hubert Bride, at the time when Casablanca was a playground and experiment for Western architects, who mixed Western techniques and Moorish motifs. The Lincoln Hotel is a beautiful, majestic Art Deco building. After decolonization, fortunately, it did not suffer the same fate as many other buildings dating from the protectorate, which were destroyed in an attempt to erase the traces of the French occupation.

Over time, the hotel deteriorated and its facade blackened. In 1989 two people are killed by the collapse of part of a floor. As a result of this tragedy, the building was emptied of its occupants. A few years later a homeless man was killed in another collapse.

In 2000, the Lincoln was classified as historical heritage. Rehabilitation projects were born, including a plan by an American woman who wanted to make it a cultural centre dedicated to the inhabitants of Casablanca, but nothing happened.

Now, at last, there is some hope that the hotel will be reborn.

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New Push For Enhancement of Morocco's Ancient Medinas

On Monday, His Majesty King Mohammed VI presided over a ceremony at the Royal Palace of Rabat, which unveiled the programmes for the enhancement of the old medinas of Rabat and Marrakech, Casablanca and Fez

HM King Mohammed VI presides over the Rabat meeting 

The King ordered the development of the third phase of the programme of buildings threatened by ruin. For this the old Casablanca Medina has been given a budget of 300 million dirhams.

These new generation programmes aim to promote Morocco's ancient medinas, improve the living conditions of their inhabitants, preserve their architectural heritage, tangible and intangible, and promote their wealth and cultural authenticity.

At the beginning of this ceremony, the Minister of the Interior, Mr. Abdelouafi Laftit emphasized, in an address to His Majesty the King, that these programs, which proceed from a participative approach, support the rehabilitation projects of the old ones. medinas of Rabat, Marrakech and Fez.

The old medina of Rabat will see the restoration of ramparts, historic doors, of mosques and Zaouiyas, as well as the rehabilitation of the traditional foundouks and the provision of green spaces.

Under the program "Marrakech, city of permanent renewal" the city will see the preservation of more than 4,000 buildings, the rehabilitation of El Mellah neighbourhood, Ezrayeb and the Achouhada cemetery, as well as the development of tourist and spiritual tours of the old medina of Marrakech.

Fez, the kingdom's spiritual capital, will see the implementation of restoration programs for historic monuments and treatment of buildings threatened by ruin and a focus on the restoration of 27 historical monuments, including madrassas, foundouks, bridges, souks, tanneries, and bordjs.

These programs in Fez will benefit more than 1,600 people (craftsmen, shopkeepers, and students), allowing the restoration of more than 2,200 buildings threatening by ruin in the old medina of Fez.

According to the Minister of the Interior, the new upgrading program of the old medina of Rabat has a budget of about 325 million dirhams, with a contribution from the Hassan II Fund for Economic and Social Development of nearly 250 million dirhams.

The upgrading program of the old medina of Marrakech will cost 484 million dirhams. The Hassan II Fund for Economic and Social Development will contribute 150 million dirhams. The cost in the medina of Fez is nearly 583 million dirhams, including 100 million as the contribution of the Hassan II Fund for Economic and Social Development.

The Minister of the Interior indicated that HM King Mohammed VI ordered the development of the third phase of the program of habitats threatened by ruin as an integral part of the rehabilitation programme of the old medina of Casablanca with an overall budget of 300 million dirhams financed by the Hassan II Fund for Economic and Social Development.

The Minister of Tourism, Air Transport, Handicraft and Social Economy, Mr. Mohamed Sajid, pointed out that these enhancement programmes are aimed at strengthening the development of the medinas, improving their tourist and cultural attractiveness, the promotion of their civilizational and human heritage, in addition to improving the incomes of artisans and the development of the social economy.

Mr. Sajid said that the program for the old medina of Fes (2018-2023) concerns the rehabilitation of 39 historic sites of economic activity (Foundouks, workshops, souks), 10 mosques and Koranic schools, and the enhancement of 11 historical sites (water clock, museum of Jewish culture) and the restoration of Dar Al Makina. It is also planned that there will be 8 new car parks and the implementation of an electronic information system to enhance the tourist experience.

The minister also said that the upgrading program of the old medina of Marrakech (2018-2022) includes the preservation of historic monuments, the strengthening of the signaling system and lighting network, the establishment of interactive tourist information, and the development of public spaces and 6 car parks, including two underground.

The upgrading program of the old medina of Rabat (2018-2021) will focus on the development of the Place Bab El Had and places close to the central market, the strengthening of the signaling system, the setting up of interactive platforms for tourist information, pavement lanes (8 km), and the creation of two underground car parks in Bab El Had and Bab Chellah, with a total capacity of 1,090 vehicles.

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In Fez - Dar El Hana Changes Hands

A gathering held in the Fez Medina on Sunday evening marked a celebration of the transfer of the popular guest house, Dar El Hana, from Josephine Kwan to Suzanna Clarke and Sandy McCutcheon

"It has been a dream business" - Josephine Kwan

For Josephine it was an emotional event as she had poured so much energy into the enterprise over more than a decade.

When she first discovered the dar in February 2005 it looked to be in good condition. But, she explained, "when repairs started on the walls we discovered twenty-six major cracks that needed attention, and balconies were bowed from water damage."

"Features such as window shutters were painted blue and had to be stripped,' Josephine says. "All the wrought iron had been painted silver which had to be burned off".

Guests included Dr Gigi Kay (American Fonduk) and Rose Button (Dar Zerhoune)

Much of the zelige tile work had to be pulled up and restored.  There were no internal doors but, fortunately, she discovered the doors for sale in the back of a local carpet shop.

Josephine also had remodelling to do as the original kitchen was no bigger than a cupboard, and the dining room floor was close to collapse.

Restoration took one year - non-stop - with up to 10 people working every day.

Josephine recalls that at the time of the restoration there were a lot of others projects happening and there was a great camaraderie between the renovators.

Guests enjoying Dar El Hana hospitality

Originally Josephine had no intention of running the property as a guest house - but having spent her money she saw that hosting paying guests was a positive way forward. Despite having no business experience, Josephine discovered she had a talent for it and the enterprise flourished.

For Josephine the strongest and fondest memories are of friendships forged with guests and the warm relationships with the local Moroccans.

Dar El Hana - a classic restoration

"It has been a dream business," Josephine says, "with wonderful happenings along the way. Including four couples getting married after meeting in the house, including my son Anthony, who married the Moroccan girl next door!"

She says it's hard to let Dar El Hana go, but happy that she still has a small house in the Medina, so will be able to visit from her new base in Australia. So it is not goodbye.

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Can Citizens Save The Henna Souk Fountain?

The Henna Souk is one of the gems at the heart of the Fez Medina. This oasis of tranquility is the place for henna, ceramics and a variety of smaller goods such as herbs, cosmetic soaps and oils. It is also the location for the famous maristan and its fountain

The Henna Souk, with its two giant trees, is an oasis of tranquility in the busy Fez Medina

The word “maristan” is a contraction of a Persian word (bimarstan) meaning “the locus of sick people.” Maristans were medical institutions with four specialties: internal medicine, ophthalmology, traumatology, and psychiatry.

In Fez, during the Merinid dynasty a maristan, called Sidi Fredj, was built in the 13th century by the sultan Abu Yaqub (1286–1307). Leo Africanus (his original name was Hassan Al Wazzan) worked in this maristan for two years as a secretary at the end of the 15th century. Adjacent to the Sidi Fredj maristan, herb shops allowed the preparation of many kinds of medications for centuries. These small shops still exist today and add much to the charm of the Henna Souk.

Still in existence, but under threat is the beautiful fountain.

Built at the same time as the maristan, the fountain has survived the centuries but in a deteriorating condition. The proclamation of Fez as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO saw an increased appreciation of the cultural and architectural heritage of the Medina.  In 1986 the fountain was restored.

Problems began two years ago when someone began using the fountain for dumping rubbish (see photographs below). They are asked to desist by the stallholders in the Souk, but refused to do so.

Rubbish in the fountain

The stallholders recently cleaned up the fountain and the local water authority RADEEF generously undertook to assist by putting in a temporary water circulating pump and for the first time in years the sound of tinkling water was heard in the Henna Souk. RADEEF explained it was only a temporary fix and undertook to provide the plumbing to connect the fountain to a constant supply of water. It is hoped that RADEEF will quickly move to fully restore the fountain.

Cleaned and flowing with fresh water

Sadly, the abuse of the fountain has continued and the people involved have removed the water pump and returned to dumping into the fountain.

The local shopkeepers all signed a petition and delivered it to their local city official, who unfortunately dismissed it as being "in the wrong format" and declined to address the problem.

There is much discussion about what the next step should be. Please visit the Henna Souk to show your support.

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Moroccan Museums Get an Upgrade

Yesterday, Friday, July 29th, the Museum of the Kasbah in Tangier was renamed The Kasbah Museum of Mediterranean Cultures and opened its doors to the public after several months of renovation at a cost of around 2.5 million dirhams. Part of the budget (1.3 million dirhams) was kindly donated by a French citizen, resident in Morocco

Now open: "The Kasbah of Mediterranean Cultures"

Mehdi Qotbi, president of the National Museums Foundation (FNM) explained, "We felt the urgency to raise the the various museums of Morocco to international museum standards. So we are not going to wait for state funds to start these projects".

The Kasbah Museum of Mediterranean Culture in Tangier is the first in a series of thirteen projects to upgrade of all Moroccan museums. Two museums whose current renovation work began in 2016 should also open their doors by the end of the year.

The next museums to be upgraded is the Archaeological Museum of Rabat which will probably be renamed The Rbati Museum of History and Civilisations.

This will be followed by the Batha Museum in Fez, whose construction was begun in May. According to  Mehdi Qotbi, "The work in Fez includes the consolidation and restoration of the building as well as upgrading its electricity. The three magnificent carved rooms, dating back 300 years, will also be restored".

The Batha Museum in Fez

The Batha museum work has required a budget of around ten million dirhams. Work will also include the creation of reception areas and road signs. Like most others museums it will also be renamed The Batha Museum of Islamic Art.

"We want to strengthen the identity of museums so that they are complementary to each other," said Mehdi Qotbi, who believes that the name of each museum will now "be in line with where it is located and the collections that it presents to the public."

In 2017 the Safi Museum of Ceramics of Safi and The Dar El Bacha Museum in Marrakech should be open to the public.

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Spain Offers Morocco the Cervantes Theatre

According to the Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo, Spain will donate the Cervantes theatre in Tangier to Morocco, in order to restore and manage it

The Cervantes Theatre in Tangier, built by the Spanish couple Manuel Pena and Esperanza Orellana, opened December 11, 1913.  It was acquired by the Spanish government in 1928.

The Cervantes Theatre was described by he coordinator of Cervantes centres in Morocco, Javier Galvan Guijo, as one of the "architectural jewels" of Moroccan heritage.

Thirty years after shutting down the theatre, Spain has decided to transform the historical building into a cultural centre.  The Secretary General of the Ministry of Culture told Telquel magazine,  “We made an arrangement with the Spanish state through a convention, now, the adjustment process depends on Spain.”

The Ministry of Culture has already started the first studies on this project: “We have been working on it for a week and hope that the project’s budget will be included in the budget of 2017,” he said.

Restoring the legendary theatre and changing it into a cultural centre is a challenging goal for Morocco.

The theatre is accessible via the Avenue Pasteur and Rue du Prince Moulay Abdallah

The Cervantes Theatre has 1400 seats and was considered the biggest theatre in North Africa until it was shut down in 1974.

Despite its cultural value, the Cervantes Theatre was closed because of the expensive costs of restoration and management.

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R'Cif Renovations - Not Yet Officially Opened

 A few weeks ago there was a buzz of excitement when HM King Mohammed VI arrived in Fez as it was expected he might inaugurate the new airport and open the restored areas in R'Cif - so far it has not happened

The river at R'Cif - before in 2009 (above) and after, 2016 (below)

According to locals, who claim to have sources close to the palace, HM the King was displeased that the work had not been totally completed. True or not, it is obvious that there is still work to be done, especially on the riverside walkways. The walkways are a new addition and it is expected that they will prove to be very popular.

There is still work to be done

Renovation of the Dyer's Souq is now completed

The new shops in the Seffarine square are now back in business

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Magana Bouanania - The Famous Water Clock in Fez

Among the nearly 11,000 historic buildings in the Fez Medina, one of the most visited sites is the famous Magana Bouanania - the remains of the ancient water clock on the Talaa Kbira

The hydraulic clock was built on the orders of the  Merinid Sultan Abu Inan Faris. He commissioned Abou al-Hassan Ibn Ali Ahmed Tlemsani to undertake the construction which was completed on the 6th of May 1357. Tlemsani was the muwaqqit - the man in charge of maintaining clocks that indicated the correct times for the muezzin to announce the call to prayer. However, the clock fell into disrepair and has remained silent and inert for almost five centuries.

Dar al-Magana today - still awaiting reconstruction

How the clock, with its wooden decor and sculpted plaster, originally functioned is a mystery that has long puzzled scientists.

The clock consists of 13 windows and platforms carrying brass bowls. The motion of the clock was presumably maintained by a kind of small cart which ran from left to right behind twelve doors. At one end, the cart was attached to a rope with a hanging weight; at the other end to a rope with a weight that floated on the surface of a water reservoir that was drained at a regular pace. Each hour one of the doors opened; at the same time a metal ball was dropped into one of the twelve brass bowls. The rafters sticking out of the building above the doors are identical to the rafters of the Bouinania Madrasa (Islamic school) and originally supported a small roof to shield the doors and bowls.

Dar al-Magana in the beginning of the last century

On December 16th, 2004 specialist heritage experts under the guidance of the  Agency for the Development and Rehabilitation of the city of Fez (ADER-Fez) removed the bowls and began to investigate the possible reconstruction of the clock. ADER later stated that they were confident that after reconstruction the clock would be operational again.

A possible clue to the workings of the clock lie in treatise Ktab 'Amal al-sa'at wa-l-amal biha (On the Construction of Clocks and their Use) written by the Arab engineer Ridwan b. al Saati in 1203. The book contains a description of the Jayrun Water Clock,  built by Muhammad al-Sa'ati, which was positioned at the gate of Damascus, Syria, at the exit of the Umayyad Mosque in the 12th century.

The Jayrun Water Clock,  built by Muhammad al-Sa'ati

The scholar Al Jazanaî in his book "Zahrat Al Aas" (the flower of myrtle) gave a description of the Magana Bouanania, saying that " in front of the north gate of his new madrasa Abu Inan Al Mérini built a " Magana "with cups and bowls of brass. To mark the hour, a weight falls in one of the cups and a window opened. This building was erected in the last days of the construction of the Bouanania madrasa."

Other clues may lie in the work of Alī Ibn Khalaf al-Murādī, an 11th century mechanical engineer and author of the unique technological manuscript wonderfully entitled Kitāb al-asrār fī natā'ij al-afkār (The Book of Secrets as the Results of Thoughts).

A fragment of The Book of Secrets

ADER can certainly be forgiven for the years of waiting for the water clock to be restored. Their work involves protection and preservation of a huge number of historic sites in the medina of Fez, including 43 Islamic schools, 83 mausoleums and zaouïas, 176 mosques, the Quaraouiyine university, 40 hammams and some 70 km of water networks.

At a recent ADER meeting its director, Fouad Serrhini, pointed out that the Medina is home to 1.276 artisanal art workshops employing nearly 40,000 artisan and that there are 12 specialised souks, 9,600 shops and three major traditional tanneries.

Serrhini also noted that the Medina of Fez is a living example an intact medina and that ADER would continue to safeguard the urban and architectural heritage and ensure its integration into the economy and the development of commercial, craft, culture and tourism, in addition to enhancing the attractiveness of the Medina for its inhabitants as well as visitors.

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Aït Benhaddou ~ Struggling to Survive

Aït Benhaddou is a village in need of rescue. Back in November 2014, heavy storms caused major damage and now, more than a year later, some of the buildings are slowly being restored but the site requires a massive commitment to save its World Heritage values for the future

Aït Benhaddou before the storm damage

Situated on the Ounila River in Souss-Massa-Drâa, Aït Benhaddou (Amazigh: Ath Benhadu, Arabic: آيت بن حدّو‎) is a fortified city, or ksar. It stands on the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech.

For years Aït Benhaddou has been a major tourist attraction as well as a location for a large number of films such as Sodom And Gomorrah (1963), Oedipus Rex (1967), Jesus of Nazareth (1977), The Jewel of the Nile (1985), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), The Sheltering Sky (1990), Gladiator (2000), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Babel (2006), Prince of Persia (2010) and Son of God (2014.)

In the fictional world of Essos in Game of Thrones, Aït Benhaddou is turned into Yunkai, the smallest of the three cities in Slaver’s Bay, and Pentos, the biggest of the Free Cities.

Welcome to Yunkai in Game of Thrones

Anne Allmeling*, writing for Morocco World News, reports that the repair work is tedious and worthwhile only for a few inhabitants.

Fighting for a Bit of Cultural Heritage

A pile of debris – coarse mud bricks, shattered timber planks, cracked bamboo – has piled up in front of one of the buildings in the mountain village of Aït Benhaddou in southern Morocco. The collapsed façade provides an open view of the inside of the house, which once must have been very grand as the many storeys and the nooks of the tower chamber – or what’s left of them – reveal.

Andreas Reinhartz drops by here on a regular basis, but he cannot get used to the sight of the house. The German-Austrian lives in Aït Benhaddou, is married to a local woman and knows every corner of the mud-brick fortress, or ksar, which consists of many centuries old buildings. In earlier times, caravans passed by here on their way from Timbuktu to Marrakech. Today, the town is off the main road that goes from Casablanca to M’Hamid and is one of the most popular destinations for travellers to Morocco due to its medieval flair. The caved-in house was long in need of repairs, Reinhartz tells me. It took only two consecutive storms in November to turn the old building into a ruin.

World Heritage - turned to rubble

Usually, the clay walls can stand up to it,” explains Reinhartz, who has long studied the traditional adobe construction methods in the region. He runs a hostel that was also built in the traditional manner in the new village on the other side of the river. During the storms, he and his wife used any rain-free hours to dry the drenched parts of their house as people have done here for centuries. Reinhartz makes sure to replaster the house regularly to keep the rain from soaking through the walls.

This was the fate of the collapsed buildings. It’s no wonder, for only a few of the houses in Aït Benhaddou are inhabited. Life in the old village, which is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Site, is tedious in part because there is no electricity. In addition, maintaining the old adobe fortress requires a great deal of manual work. Clay, wood and rushes are required as construction materials – along with a great deal of physical strength.

Yet rebuilding is often not worthwhile for the locals, sometimes because the old houses are owned by large families that are slow to agree on decisions. All of the old established families have moved across the river to the new village where there are many hotels and restaurants.

Repair work is tedious 

Tourism is the primary source of income for the inhabitants of Aït Benhaddou. Many of them rent out single rooms or buildings in the kasbah to merchants from all over Morocco who sell souvenirs and jewellery there. Some of them offer their former living quarters in the old village as museums. Recently, two hotels also opened in the old adobe fortress. Their owners make sure that the storm damages to their buildings are mended as quickly as possible. Yet for most of the residents of Aït Benhaddou restoring the old structures is not worthwhile. They cannot earn money with it and have far different worries since the storms: the heavy rainfall not only damaged the kasbah, but agriculture as well.

“We lost one third of our farmland,” says Andreas Reinhartz. “It simply washed away.” His concerns are shared by most families in Aït Benhaddou. The flooding destroyed the harvest and uprooted and swept away the olive trees. It was a major loss for the entire region. Nonetheless, Andreas Reinhartz worries most about the kasbah. It draws throngs of tourists around midday weaving their way for an hour through the ksar on their way from Marrakech to Merzouga. What’s lacking, according to Reinhartz, is long-term, lasting commitment to the kasbah.

*Morocco World News is participating in an interesting journalistic exchange project “Close-Up” with the Goethe-Institut, in which journalists from Germany and Arab countries swap their workplaces for two to four weeks. The editorial journalist Anne Allmeling from Deutsche Welle in Germany is  a Morocco World News guest journalist for three weeks. In return, editor Tarik Elbarakah will be the guest of Deutsche Welle in February 2015. You can find more information at www.goethe.de/close-up

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The Fez Dyers Souk Gets A Makeover

There has been concern in the Fez Medina that the ancient street of the dyers - the Dyers Souk - was being destroyed. However, the latest news on the street is that the souk is the recipient of some royal largesse - and will be restored, in a more environmentally friendly location

The Dyers Souk as it was 

According to locals, it was an initiative of King Mohammed VI, who offered the dyers twenty thousand dirhams each to take a holiday while the work was being done. In addition they were offered interim work on the new construction.

Workmen cleaning up the old souk - it will no longer pollute the river

The old dyers souk was seen as polluting, and with the work being done on cleaning up the river in R'cif, something had to change. Hopefully the new souk and its drainage system will be an improvement.

The souk has been in action for several hundred years and is where many small businesses bring fabric or skeins of wool to be dyed. Everything from old jeans to cotton shirts are treated and then resold. The souk was also a popular tourist destination and it is the restoration aims to ensure that this will continue.

Construction work is forging ahead at Rcif

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Casablanca's Hotel Lincoln Falls - Takes Another life

A Casablanca icon, in ruins for twenty years, has had another collapse and tragically taken the life of a local man. The Lincoln Hotel partially fell on Monday at dawn, leaving one dead and two wounded

Built in 1917 by the French architect Hubert Bride, the Lincoln hotel was a symbol of Casablanca's past. The Arabesque Art Deco building had a colourful history including being home to American spies during World War II when it was OSS HQ.

The scene this morning - Photo: Yassine-Toumi

Although having been abandoned for more than two decades, there had been constant calls for its preservation and restoration, especially from thew conservation group, the Association Casamémoire. Architectural activists, city authorities and the Ministry of Culture had prevented the destruction of the façade, and the site was named a National Historic Landmark which ensured that the landowner could not tear down the building. The landowner allowed squatters to occupy the hotel in hopes that the infrastructure would not hold up to their occupation and the building might disintegrate naturally.

In 1989, a partial collapse killed two people. Several other parts subsequently collapsed under the impact of time and weather, including one in 2004 that resulted in the death of a homeless man.

Casablanca has a history of building collapses with many badly constructed apartment threatening to collapse. In July 2014, 23 people died and 55 were injured in the collapse of three buildings in the Burgundy area.

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Saving an Architectural Jewel of Moroccan Heritage

The Cervantes Theatre in Tangier, built by the Spanish couple Manuel Pena and Esperanza Orellana opened December 11, 1913. It was acquired by the Spanish government in 1928. The Cervantes Theatre was described by he coordinator of Cervantes centres in Morocco, Javier Galvan Guijo, as one of the  "architectural jewels" of Moroccan heritage. Now, after years of indecision, Moroccan and Spanish architects are calling for its restoration.

Back in February of this year, The View from Fez wrote about the state of the theatre and the need for renovation (see story here). At the time, Cecilia Fernandez Suzor, director of the Cervantes Institute in Tangier said, "Its current state is a bit pathetic, to be honest."

Writer Rachid Taferssiti, president of the Al Boughaz Association for the Safeguarding of Tangier, also had something to say. "It looks like a shadow of a theatre, "he said,  "I find it sad that a multicultural space like that is degraded as it is."

On Tuesday in Fez  Moroccan and Spanish architects launched a call for the "Safeguarding of great Cervantes Theatre in Tangier".

At a round table on "rehabilitation and implementation of heritage: the case of large Cervantes Theatre in Tangier," participants from various backgrounds have called stakeholders, theatre professionals and civil society to "mobilise to rehabilitate this emblematic monument and restore its its former luster and radiance."

This Tangier coliseum with a capacity of more than a thousand spectators once served as a place of amusement and entertainment, debate of ideas and a meeting the Moroccan nationalist movement.

The building has been closed to the public since the early 90s.

Visiting the site photographer Gerard Chemit found it surrounded by rubbish and in a dilapidated state. Hopefully the words spoken about the theatre will finally result in some action.

  The theatre is accessible via the Avenue Pasteur and
Rue du Prince Moulay Abdallah  - Photo Gerard Chemit

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Borj Sidi Bounafae Restoration to be Completed in 2015

On Wednesday this week HM King Mohammed VI inspected the restoration work taking place on the historic Borj Sidi Bounafae in Fez

HM King Mohammed VI inspects restoration progress

The project is part of a major campaign costing around 285 million Dirhams (37 million dollars) undertaken restore and rehabilitate historical monuments in the old Medina of Fez.

In 2013 the King made a commitment to preserve the historical and civilizational character of the ancient city that was given UNESCO World Heritage status in 1981. The programme provides for the rehabilitation of 27 historical monuments including Medersas, Borjs, Foundouks, tanneries, walls and bridges.

The Borj restoration is a pilot project in the programme of restoration and rehabilitation of historical monuments whose framework agreements were signed on March 4, 2013 under the chairmanship of HM the King.

The various actions set under this programme are intended to contribute to strengthening tourist attraction of the Fez Medina, improving the built environment, enhancing socio-economic development of the city while preserving the authentic character of the Medina.

Ahmed Al Mansour

Fourteen of the 27 projects planned under this four-year programme (2013-2016) are underway, including the restoration of Borj Sidi Bounafae, built in 1550 by Sultan Ahmed Al Mansour Assaadi.

The Borj was originally built to strengthen Fez' defence capabilities against external threats but it will now be converted into a museum. The work is expected to be completed by the middle of 2015 and cost 10.2 million Dirhams (1.3 million dollars)

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