Rights-managed image C853044 - Borj Sud Panoramic view of

 of mainly Arab immigrants from Ifriqiya Tunisia and al-Andalus Spain/Portugal in the early 9th century gave the nascent city its Arab character. After the downfall of the Idrisid dynasty other empires came and went until the 11th century when the Almoravid Sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin united the two settlements into what is today s Fes el-Bali quarter. Under Almoravid rule the city gained a reputation for religious scholarship and mercantile activity. Fez reached its zenith in the Marinid era 13th-15th centuries regaining its status as political capital. Numerous new madrasas and mosques were constructed many of which survive today while other structures were restored. These buildings are counted among the hallmarks of Moorish and Moroccan architectural styles. In 1276 the Marinid sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub also founded the royal administrative district of Fes el-Jdid where the royal palace is still located today to which extensive gardens were later added. During this period the Jewish population of the city grew and the Mellah Jewish quarter was formed on the south side of this new district. After the overthrow of the Marinid dynasty Fez largely declined and subsequently competed with Marrakesh for political and cultural influence but remained as the capital under the Wattasids and in modern times up until 1912. Today the city consists of two old medina quarters Fes el-Bali and Fes el-Jdid and the much larger modern urban Ville Nouvelle area founded during the French colonial era. The medina of Fez is listed as a World Heritage Site and is believed to be one of the world s largest urban pedestrian zones car-free areas . 5 It has the University of Al Quaraouiyine which was founded in 859 and is considered by some to be the oldest continuously functioning institute of higher education in the world. It also has Chouara Tannery from the 11th century one of the oldest tanneries in the world. The city has been called the Mecca of the West and the Athens of Africa .