The Kissariat al-Kifah () or Kissaria () is the historic central bazaar of Fes el-Bali, the historic old city of

Fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...

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 t ...

. It is located between the

Zawiya of Moulay Idris II The Zawiya of Moulay Idris II is a ''zaouia, zawiya'' (an Islamic shrine and religious complex, also spelled ''zaouia'') in Fes, Fez, Morocco. It contains the tomb of Idriss II, Idris II (or Moulay Idris II when including his sharifian title), w ...

and the

Qarawiyyin Mosque The University of al-Qarawiyyin ( ar, جامعة القرويين; ber, ⵜⴰⵙⴷⴰⵡⵉⵜ ⵏ ⵍⵇⴰⵕⴰⵡⵉⵢⵉⵏ; french: Université Al Quaraouiyine), also written Al-Karaouine or Al Quaraouiyine, is a university located in ...

. The Kissaria (a term also used in other parts of the Islamic world and sometimes

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...

from

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a 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. E.Watson; Walter ...

as ''qaysariyya'') is interconnected with the Souq al-Attarine and consists of a close network of lanes and alleys which are filled with hundreds of shops. It is only one part of a larger commercial district and of a network of souqs (markets) across the city, but was traditionally the most prestigious and most central commercial complex, where the most luxurious goods were sold. A number of ''

funduq A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside Pub#Inns, inn where travelers (caravan (travellers), caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the ne ...

''s (merchant inns and warehouses) were also found nearby, such as the Funduq al-Shamma'in. This arrangement of a planned bazaar at heart of the city, near its most important religious and civic monuments, was typical of many major cities in the Islamic world. The bazaar has been established here since the early

Idrisid The Idrisid dynasty or Idrisids ( ar, الأدارسة ') were an Arab Muslim dynasty from 788 to 974, ruling most of present-day Morocco and parts of present-day western Algeria. Named after the founder, Idris I, the Idrisids were an Alid and ...

period of the city (9th-10th centuries). However, its streets and houses were rebuilt at least once after the double devastation of a fire in 1324 and a flood in 1325, and then again in the 1920s following another fire, at which point many of the structures were rebuilt in concrete. The most recent renovations, in 2016 and 2017, replaced the street roofs with new wooden roofs, made various repairs and practical improvements, and added

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...

decoration along the lower walls. File:ETH-BIB-Moschee in Fès-Nordafrikaflug 1932-LBS MH02-13-0305.tif, Rooftop view of the Kissaria in 1932, with the minaret of the

rising behind File:Kissaria roofs.jpg, Rooftop view of the Kissaria in 2014, before recent renovations which replaced the roofs File:Public drinking fountain in Fez.jpg, A fountain decorated with zellij in the Kissaria in 2017, after the recent renovations

References

{{Morocco-stub Fez, Morocco Bazaars Souqs Architecture in Morocco