Fortifications and ramparts to visit Morocco

It is located behind the mosque and you can walk through its streets and underground, lit by some wells of light.

Dominating the medina, this ancient fortress of the th century dates from the sultan saadien Ahmed el-Mansour. In the south of the city, shortly before the Bab Ftouh cemetery, it had a defensive role, since Fes, located between the chain of Rif and the Middle Atlas, was prey to Berber tribes scattered from the mountains. Surrounded by olive trees, Borj offers a breathtaking view of the old medina. From far away, the minarets of the mosques, many hundreds of them throughout the city, are extirpent from the unity of the colors of the medina, the whole of which surrounded by walls.

It was built by the Almohads when the Almohads found the existing kasbah too narrow to accommodate their families, imams and personal guards. So it was Yacoub el Mansour who undertook the construction of this kasbah located south of the medina, defended by Bab er Robb. Of the original kasbah only the Golden Apple Mosque remains today. In the 18th century, Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah built the Royal Palace (Dar el-Makhzen), a residence still frequented by the current king, Mohammed VI.

You can reach the Porte aux Vents Est from Place du Méchouar by following the ramparts from the outside. The ramparts, erected in the 12th century, have been badly restored, and one does not feel the historical unity that one used to see. However, the view is remarkable in Ban er-Rih: on the mountains, plantations and forests of the Jebel Tazzeka. To return to the medina, the street from Bab er-Rih goes up near the Great Mosque and joins the souks.