The Funduq Staouniyyin (pronounced ''foon-dook sta-woo-nee-yeen'') or Funduq al-Tetwaniyyin (also spelled Foundouk Staouniyine, Fondouk Stawniyin, or Foundouk Tetouaniyine) is a historic ''funduq'' (

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...

) in Fes el-Bali, the old city of

Fes Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

Historical background

The funduq is located next to the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque, facing its northeastern corner and close to the

Mesbahiyya Madrasa Mesbahiyya Madrasa ( ar, المدرسة المصباحية) is a madrasa in Fes el Bali, the old medina quarter in the city of Fez, Morocco. The madrasa was completed in 1346, during the Marinid period, under the patronage of the Marinid sultan A ...

. It was founded in the 14th century during the

Marinid The Marinid Sultanate was a Berber Muslim empire from the mid-13th to the 15th century which controlled present-day Morocco and, intermittently, other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula (Spain) a ...

era, probably around the same time as the construction of the

al-Attarine Madrasa The Al-Attarine Madrasa or Medersa al-Attarine () is a madrasa in Fes, Morocco, near the Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque. It was built by the Marinid sultan Uthman II Abu Said (r. 1310-1331) in 1323-5. The madrasa takes its name from the Souk al-Attarine ...

by Sultan

Abu Sa'id Uthman II Abu Sa'id Uthman II (; Abū Sa'īd 'Abdullāh 'Uthmān ibn Yūsuf Abū Ya'qūb; ) (December 1276 – August 1331) was the 10th Marinid sultan of Morocco, reigning from 1310 to 1331. A younger son of Abū Ya'qūb Yusuf an-Nasir, Abū Sa'īd 'Uthm ...

, making it one of the oldest funduqs in Fes. ''Funduq''s were a type of urban caravanserai in Morocco which served as an inn and commercial center for trade, providing services and accommodations for merchants and travelers from outside the city. Some funduqs were also occupied by artisans and manufacturers instead of merchants, but the Staouniyyin Funduq was solely for merchants. The name ''Staouniyyin'' or ''Tetwaniyyin'' means "people from Tetouan" (a city in northern Morocco), suggesting that merchants in Fes were historically grouped together by origin. The building was classified as a national monument in 1925. It was more recently restored, along with a number of other funduqs, by the ADER-Fes heritage preservation agency, and reopened in March 2019 as a cultural and commercial center for artisans, with some modern amenities added.

Architecture

The funduq has a typical layout that matches other caravanserais in Morocco and in Nasrid

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

at the time, consisting of a courtyard surrounded by a multi-storied

gallery Gallery or The Gallery may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Art gallery ** Contemporary art gallery Music * Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s Albums * ''Gallery'' (Elaiza album), 2014 album * ''Gallery'' (Gr ...

that gives access to rooms arranged across its three floors. It has a usable

floor area In architecture, construction, and real estate, floor area, floor space, or floorspace is the area (measured as square feet or square metres) taken up by a building or part of it. The ways of defining "floor area" depend on what factors of the buil ...

(after recent restorations) of 437

square metres The square metre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or square meter (American spelling) is the unit of area in the International System of Units (SI) with symbol m2. It is the area of a square w ...

. The galleries are supported by wooden

lintels A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...

resting on square pillars, and are lined with wooden ''

mashrabiya A ''mashrabiya'' or ''mashrabiyya'' ( ar, مشربية) is an architectural element which is characteristic of traditional architecture in the Islamic world and beyond. It is a type of projecting oriel window enclosed with carved wood latticew ...

''-like railings or

parapets A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Wher ...

. The ground floor was most likely used for storage of animals and merchandise, and was the site of trading and commerce, while the upper floors were for sleeping accommodations. The building is also noted for its vestibule, which has a ceiling of carved and painted wood featuring geometric and floral motifs, as well as an

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

inscription carved in

Kufic script Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts. It ...

References

External links

*
Medieval inns restored as Moroccan craft markets
, ''Associated Press Archive'': contains footage of Funduq Staouniyyin after restoration (first part of video). {{Fes 14th-century establishments in Morocco Buildings and structures in Fez, Morocco Marinid architecture Caravanserais in Morocco

Historical background

Architecture

See also

References

External links