Bab Bou Jeloud — The Blue Gate of Fes

For most visitors, Bab Bou Jeloud is where Fes begins. This monumental triple-arched gate is the principal western entrance to Fes el-Bali, the point where the modern approach roads and taxi ranks give way to the pedestrian world of the old city. Step through it and you are immediately at the head of Talaa Kebira and Talaa Sghira, the two great streets that funnel down through the souks toward the Kairaouine, so nearly every medina walk starts or ends here.

Despite its ancient-looking splendour, the gate as you see it is not medieval. It was built in 1913, early in the French protectorate, in a Moorish-revival style, monumentalising an older, humbler entrance on the site to create a grand ceremonial threshold to the imperial city. That makes it far younger than the 1,100-year-old medina it introduces - a piece of early-20th-century stagecraft that has become, fairly enough, one of the enduring symbols of Fes.

The gate's fame rests on its skin of glazed faience, and on a clever piece of symbolism built into it. The outer, western face - the one you see as you approach from outside the walls - is covered in intricate floral and geometric tilework in a deep cobalt blue, the colour long associated with the city of Fes and its celebrated 'Fes blue' ceramics. Pass through, turn around, and the inner, eastern face facing into the medina is worked in the same patterns but in green, the colour of Islam, greeting those who enter the holy city.

So the gate reads differently coming and going: blue to the world outside, green to the faithful within. Both faces are elaborately decorated, with bands of Kufic inscription and dense arabesque tile panels around the three horseshoe arches. It is a small lesson in how colour carries meaning in Moroccan architecture, and knowing it turns a quick photo stop into something you actually look at - remember to walk through and glance back to see the green side that many visitors miss.

The single most famous composition at Bab Bou Jeloud is the view through it. Stand back on the western side and look through the central arch, and the tall green-and-white minaret of the Bou Inania Medersa rises perfectly framed within the tiled opening, with a second minaret often visible alongside. It is one of the defining images of Fes, reproduced on countless postcards and book covers, and it is genuinely as good in person as in the photographs.

The framing is best appreciated a little way back from the gate, where the arch neatly encloses the minaret, rather than right underneath it. It is also a useful orientation: the minaret you can see through the arch belongs to the grandest medersa in the city, only three minutes' walk inside, which makes the Bou Inania the obvious first stop once you pass through. Line up the shot, then go and stand at the foot of the tower you just photographed.

Because the two faces point in opposite directions, the light on them changes through the day, and timing your visit makes a real difference to your photos. The blue outer face looks roughly west, so it takes warm, direct light in the late afternoon and glows at sunset; the green inner face looks east and is at its best in the morning. The middle of the day flattens both faces under harsh overhead sun and brings the biggest crowds, so it is the least rewarding time for pictures.

For the framed minaret through the central arch, an overcast sky or the softer light of morning and late afternoon avoids blowing out the bright opening against the shaded arch. And do not overlook the blue hour just after sunset, when the gate is lit, the cafe terraces glow and the tilework takes on a jewel-like intensity against the darkening sky. The table sets out the windows so you can plan around them.

Bab Bou Jeloud is ringed by cafes and terraces, and they are part of the experience. Just inside and beside the gate, several cafes have upper floors and rooftops whose tables look straight onto the tiled arches and down the opening lanes of the medina - the classic spot to sit with a mint tea and watch the constant theatre of people, mules and porters passing through the gate. The little square outside, sometimes busy with buskers and hawkers, adds to the sense of a threshold and a meeting point.

These terraces double as a strategic base. They give you an elevated view for photographs, a place to rest before or after the exertions of the medina, and a chance to plan your route into the souks. Prices are a little higher than deep in the medina because of the location, but the seat and the view are worth it. For eating properly nearby, the food stalls of the Bou Jeloud area are a highlight of our Fes street food guide.

Bab Bou Jeloud is the grandest and most-used entrance, but Fes el-Bali has many gates, and knowing the main ones helps you plan how to enter and leave without long detours. Bab Guissa in the north is the gate for the climb to the Merenid Tombs; Bab R'cif, roughly central, drops you close to the Kairaouine and has a taxi-friendly square; and Bab Ftouh in the southeast is a busy local gate near the old cemeteries and the potters' quarter. Toward Fes Jdid, further gates lead to the royal palace district.

The practical trick in a city this large is to enter by one gate and leave by another rather than retracing your steps through the maze. Walk in downhill through Bab Bou Jeloud, thread the souks to the Kairaouine, and exit at Bab R'cif for a taxi, for example. The table compares the main gates so you can match your entrance and exit to where you are going.

The gate is free and always open - it is a working entrance to the city, not a ticketed monument - so you can pass through and photograph it at any hour. Petit taxis and buses serve the roads just outside, and it is the standard drop-off and pick-up point for the western medina, so it is the easiest place to start a walking day. Just beyond it, the shaded Jnan Sbil gardens make a cool first or last stop.

From the gate, the natural plan is to walk downhill: pause at the Bou Inania Medersa whose minaret you photographed, drift down Talaa Kebira through the souks to the Al-Attarine Medersa and the Kairaouine, and finish at the tanneries, before a sunset up at the Merenid Tombs. Our 3 days in Fes itinerary builds exactly this kind of day around the Blue Gate as the starting point.