Fez

The city of Fez, Morocco’s second largest, is considered to be its cultural and religious capital and often referred to as the Mecca of the West. Divided into three districts, the oldest and most fascinating is Fes el Bali founded in the 9th century. Venturing through its vast gates into the medina is like stepping back in time. It’s dense maze of some 9000 alleys are plied by donkeys and hand-pulled carts (said to be the largest car-free urban area in the world), with narrow passageways leading through beautiful squares, into the middle of a spice-scented food market or to a dead end and the ruins of an abandoned house. Head up to a rooftop terrace to really appreciate the maelstrom at street level.
The fresh air of the public Jnan Sbil Gardens connects the old medina to Fes el Jdid, or ‘New Fez’, the 13th century extension which contains the vast Royal Palace and the Mellah which was once home to thousands of Jews, many immigrants from Spain. Built by the French at the beginning of the 20th century, the Ville Nouvelle is the third and most modern of Fes’ districts.
The worldwide famous tanneries are composed of several stone vessels neatly built side by side in the heart of Fes el-Bali with several balconies overseeing the cauldrons from above.  A multitude of hides such as goat, sheep, cow, camel, and many more all processed by hand through manual labor forming a more than 1000 years tradition of true labor of love, passion, and pride.
In Fez we have Rabbi Moses ben Maimon a/k/a Maimonides a/k/a the Rambam. He is called “the great eagle” because he carries us on his shoulders. The epitaph on his grave reads “From Moses to Moses, there arose none like Moses,” and it is no exaggeration. The Rambam’s influence on the Jewish people approached the influence of Moses himself.
It is superfluous to say that the Rambam was blessed with a superior mind. By the time he was 15, he had acquired a complete education. He was, if we can use the term for a person of the 12th century, a renaissance man. The Rambam was not just a Talmudic scholar, but a philosopher, an astronomer, a mathematician, a physician, a linguist, a poet, and a critic. And he was entirely self-taught.