5 Best Sights in Fez and the Middle Atlas, Morocco

This Moorish-style gate dating to 1913 is considered the principal and most beautiful point of entry into Fez el-Bali, even though it's 1,000 years younger than the rest of the medina. It was built by General Hubert Lyautey, Moroccan commander under the French protectorate. The side facing toward Fez el-Djedid is covered with blue ceramic tiles painted with flowers and calligraphy; the inside is green, the official color of Islam—or of peace, depending on interpretation.

Looming over the Place el-Hedim, this huge, horseshoe-shape triumphal arch is widely considered to be North Africa's most beautiful gate, completed in 1732 by a Christian convert to Islam named Mansour Laalej (whose name means "victorious renegade"). The marble Ionic columns supporting the two bastions on either side of the main entry are thought to have been taken from the Roman ruins at Volubilis. The taller Corinthian columns came from Marrakesh's El Badi Palace, part of Moulay Ismail's campaign to erase any vestige of the Saadian dynasty that preceded the Alaouites. Ismail's last important construction project, the gate was conceived as an elaborate homage to himself and the dynasty's strong Muslim orthodoxy, rather than a defensive stronghold—hence its intense decoration of green and white tiles and engraved Koranic panels, now faded with age. The Arabic inscription along the top of the gate reads: "I am the most beautiful gate in Morocco. I’m like the moon in the sky. Property and wealth are written on my front."

From outside Bab Boujeloud you will see the green-tile tower of this medersa (school), generally considered the most beautiful of the Kairaouine University's 14th-century residential colleges. It was built by order of Abou Inan, the first ruler of the Merenid dynasty, which would become the most decisive ruling clan in Fez's development. The main components of the stunningly intricate decorative artwork in this now-nonoperating school are the green-tile roofing; the cedar eaves and upper patio walls carved in floral and geometrical motifs; the carved-stucco midlevel walls; the ceramic-tile lower walls covered with calligraphy (Kufi script, essentially cursive Arabic) and geometric designs; and, finally, the marble floor. Showing its age, the carved cedar is still dazzling, with each square inch a masterpiece of handcrafted sculpture involving long hours of the kind of concentration required to memorize the Koran. The black belt of ceramic tile around the courtyard bears Arabic script reading "this is a place of learning" and other such exhortatory academic messages.

Named after the seven brothers of Moulay Abdellah, who reigned during the 18th century, the Bab es Seba (also known as Bab Dekkakin) connects two open spaces originally designed for military parades and royal ceremonies, the Petit Méchouar and Vieux Méchouar. It was from this gate that the corpse of Prince Ferdinand, brother of Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal, was hanged head-down for four days in 1443 after being captured during a failed invasion of Tangier.

Constructed in 1670 by Moulay Rachid, this is one of Fez's two Alaouite medersas and an important historical site. More austere than the 14th-century medersas of the Merenids, the Cherratine is also more functional, designed to hold over 200 students. It's interesting primarily as a contrast to the intricate craftsmanship and decorative intent of the Merenid structures. The entry doors beautifully engraved in bronze lead to the douiras, narrow residential blocks consisting of a honeycomb of small rooms.