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Bab Boujloud: The Blue Gate of Fes
Blue on one side, green on the other — the gate that opens the entire Fes medina. Here is what it means, when to photograph it, and where to go once you pass through.
Leila Tazi· Fes, Culture & Cuisine Editor
Fes-based journalist with a food and crafts obsession, Leila spends her weeks between the tanneries, the Qarawiyyin quarter and the kitchens of the old city. She covers Fes, Meknes, food and Moroccan culture. Fes · 11+ years covering Morocco
Published 2 November 2024 Last updated 21 March 2026
Bab Boujloud is the ornate western gateway into Fes el-Bali, Morocco’s largest intact medieval medina, and it is almost certainly the first thing you will photograph when you arrive. The cobalt-blue zellige tiles on the exterior face glow in morning light in a way that makes your shutter finger twitch automatically. Pass through the arch, however, and you find yourself looking back at a completely different gate — this one tiled in green — which is the first sign that Fes is a city that reveals itself in layers.
What surprises many visitors is that this striking monument is barely a century old. Built in 1913 during the French Protectorate, Bab Boujloud was constructed to mark the formal boundary of the medina in an architectural vocabulary borrowed from the Marinid dynasty — pointed horseshoe arches, carved stucco, geometric tile panels. It mimics antiquity so well that almost no one guesses the date without being told. Step through it and you are in a city that genuinely is medieval, its lanes unchanged in character since the 14th century.
Blue outside, green inside — and why it matters
The two-colour design is intentional, not accidental, and each face speaks a different symbolic language.
The Blue Face (exterior)
Cobalt blue faces the square outside the medina — the city’s public face to the world. Blue is associated historically with the city of Fes itself: Fassi craftsmen produced a distinctive blue dye for centuries, and the colour became an informal civic identity marker. It is also simply beautiful, and photographers have been pointing cameras at it since the gate was built.
The Green Face (interior)
Green greets you from inside, looking back toward the gate from Talaa Kebira. Green is the colour of Islam in Moroccan tradition — it appears on the national flag, on mosque roofs across the country, and on the interior of Bab Boujloud. Entering the medina, you pass under a reminder of the sacred character of the city within. Many visitors notice this reversal only on the way out, when they suddenly see a blue gate where they expected green.
Built in 1913 — younger than it looks
The gate was constructed by the French Protectorate administration, which is why it looks authentically Moroccan rather than colonial. The French chose to build in a Marinid idiom — the same dynasty responsible for the Bou Inania Madrasa just inside the gate and for much of Fes el-Bali’s finest architecture between the 13th and 15th centuries. At barely over 110 years old, Bab Boujloud is one of the newer structures at this end of the medina.
Photography: when to come and where to stand
Bab Boujloud is photogenic at almost any hour, but the quality of light changes dramatically across the day.
| Time | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Sunrise to 08:30 | The gate faces roughly east on its blue side, so early morning light hits it front-on. The square is almost empty — ideal if you want a clean architectural shot. |
| 09:00 – 11:00 | Crowd builds gradually. The gate is still well-lit and the activity adds life to street shots: porters with donkeys, schoolchildren, vendors setting up. |
| Midday | Harsh overhead light creates heavy shadows in the archways. Workable if you expose for the tiles rather than the dark interior. |
| Late afternoon (16:00 – 18:00) | Warm golden light on the green exterior (facing the medina). Good for inside-out shots looking back toward the gate from Talaa Kebira. |
| Blue hour (just after sunset) | The blue tiles glow without harsh shadows. Bring a small tripod — ambient light is low and you need a slow shutter for noise-free results. |
Positioning tip: The best exterior shot is straight-on from the square, roughly 15–20 metres back, to capture all three arches. For a tighter frame on the central arch, move closer and shoot slightly upward to emphasise the pointed horseshoe. The interior shot (green face, from Talaa Kebira) works better with a wider lens — the lane is narrow enough that you will struggle to get the full gate without one.
Talaa Kebira begins immediately inside the gate and descends into the heart of Fes el-Bali.
What is nearby: inside the gate
Bab Boujloud is a starting point, not a destination. These are the key places within walking distance once you pass through.
Talaa Kebira
Begins immediately inside the gateThe main artery of Fes el-Bali, lined with spice stalls, Quranic schools and the smell of fresh bread. Follow it downhill and the medina unfolds around you.
Talaa Seghira
Parallel lane, 30 m southThe quieter of the two main streets — narrower, less touristy and where a lot of locals actually shop. Good for a second pass once you have your bearings.
Bou Inania Madrasa
Roughly 200 m down Talaa KebiraA 14th-century Marinid madrasa with some of the finest zellige tilework and carved cedar in Morocco. Entry costs around 70 MAD (indicative). Budget 30–45 minutes inside.
Rcif Square & Clock Tower
~700 m eastA focal point for local life deeper into the medina, with buses and petits taxis turning around here. Useful orientation landmark if you wander off Talaa Kebira.
Getting to Bab Boujloud
| Starting point | How | Time / Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Fes Ville Nouvelle (city centre) | Petit taxi to Bab Boujloud square | ~25–35 MAD (indicative) |
| Fes train station (Gare de Fes) | Petit taxi direct | ~40–55 MAD, 15 min (indicative) |
| Fes Saïss Airport | Grand taxi or transfer to city, then petit taxi | ~150–200 MAD total (indicative) |
| Within Fes el-Bali | Walking — follow signs toward Place Boujloud or ask for "Bab Boujloud" | Free; 5–20 min depending on starting point |
Practical note: No vehicles enter Fes el-Bali through Bab Boujloud — the medina is entirely pedestrian. Ask your taxi driver to drop you at "Place Boujloud" or "Bab Boujloud"; both names are universally understood. If you are staying in a riad inside the medina, the gate is your most likely reference point for orientation and for re-entering after excursions.
First time in Fes? The medina inside Bab Boujloud is genuinely one of the most complex urban labyrinths in the world — over 9,000 lanes by some counts. A private guided tour with a local guide is the most effective way to see the highlights on your first day without spending hours retracing wrong turns. The two main streets (Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira) are manageable solo; the deeper leather tanneries and off-lane workshops are much easier to reach with someone who knows the way.
Bab Boujloud FAQs
Why is Bab Boujloud called the Blue Gate?
Bab Boujloud gets its nickname from the vivid cobalt-blue zellige tiles that clad its exterior face — the side visible from the square outside the medina. The colour is not ancient symbolism: the gate was built in 1913 under French administration, and the blue was chosen partly to echo the reputation of Fes as a city of artisans, and partly to make it a landmark visitors could easily spot. Locals also simply call it "Bab Boujloud", after the neighbourhood of the same name.
Why is one side of Bab Boujloud blue and the other green?
The two faces carry different colours deliberately. The exterior — the public square side — is tiled in cobalt blue, a colour traditionally associated with the city of Fes. The interior face, which opens onto Talaa Kebira and the medina, is tiled in green, the colour of Islam and of the Prophet in Moroccan tradition. Depending on which side of the gate you stand, you see a completely different structure — a surprise that catches most first-time visitors off guard when they pass through.
What is the best time to photograph Bab Boujloud?
For the classic exterior shot (blue face), arrive before 09:00 when the square is quiet and the early light falls front-on. For a warmer, less crowded alternative, come at blue hour just after sunset — the tiles pick up ambient light beautifully and long-exposure shots at around 1/15s to 1/30s give clean results. Midday is the least flattering time: the archways cast deep shadows that fight with the bright tiles. If you want people in the frame for scale and life, mid-morning (09:30–11:00) gives you the most activity.
What streets start at Bab Boujloud?
Two main arteries branch off from Bab Boujloud into Fes el-Bali. Talaa Kebira (the Great Slope) is the wider of the two and descends through the heart of the medina past the Bou Inania Madrasa, eventually reaching the central Rcif area. Talaa Seghira (the Small Slope) runs roughly parallel and is quieter — more residential, less touristy. Both eventually converge deeper in the medina. Walking both out and back gives you a good first-day orientation without getting irreversibly lost.
Is Bab Boujloud in Fes el-Bali or Fes el-Jdid?
Bab Boujloud sits at the western edge of Fes el-Bali — the older, UNESCO-listed medina district. It is the most-used pedestrian entrance to Fes el-Bali from the modern Ville Nouvelle side and from the car parks on Boulevard Moulay Youssef. Fes el-Jdid (the "New Fes", dating to the 13th century) is a separate walled enclosure further west, near the Royal Palace. The two districts are distinct; Bab Boujloud belongs firmly to el-Bali.
How old is Bab Boujloud?
Despite looking ancient, Bab Boujloud is relatively recent by Fes standards. It was constructed in 1913 during the French Protectorate era, when the administration built a formal gateway to delineate the medina boundary. This makes it barely over a century old — much younger than the Bou Inania Madrasa just inside (1350s) or the Andalusian Mosque further in (9th century). The gate mimics the Marinid architectural vocabulary convincingly enough that most visitors assume it is medieval.
Is there an opening fee for Bab Boujloud?
No — the gate itself is a public thoroughfare and there is no charge to pass through or to stand in the square and photograph it. It is open continuously; neither side closes at night, though the laneways immediately inside become very quiet after dark. Attractions nearby that do charge include the Bou Inania Madrasa (around 70 MAD, indicative) and the Museum of Wood Art and Crafts (Nejjarine Museum, around 30 MAD, indicative). Keep small change handy if you plan to visit those.
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