Moulay Idriss Zawiya

Here is the heart of Fez: the mausoleum of the city's founder and the most venerated pilgrimage spot in Morocco. You can't enter unless you're a Muslim, but you can peek inside. It's worth walking around the building to see the beautiful carved and painted wood porches, the wall zellij and painted carved plaster at each doorway.

Near the main entrance are a fountain and a mzara (niche on the outside wall, richly decorated with zellij and plasterwork) where people in too much of a hurry to enter can pay their respects; there's another mzara on Talaa Kebira. The brass money-slot is for giving alms. Housing a mosque and ablution facilities, as well as the tomb of Moulay Idriss, the zawiya (shrine) dates from the 9th century and was enlarged in the 17th century. The streets around the zawiya sell necessities for pilgrims: votive candles, prayer beads and various types of incense.