The gate Bab Bou Jeloud leads into the old medina in Fes, Morocco. It is also known as The Blue Gate to Fes. View from the terrace of a teahouse
Wikipedia: The Bab Abi al-Jounoud or Bab Bou Jeloud (also spelled Bab Boujeloud or Bab Boujloud) is an ornate city gate and the main western entrance to Fes el Bali, the old city of Fez, Morocco. The name Bou Jeloud dates from well before the existence of the current gate. By one account, the name is a vernacular corruption of the expression Abu al-Junud ("Father of the troops"), referring to a parade ground or military square, in this case the large square known as Place Bou Jeloud (now also called Place el-Baghdadi) just west of the gate. It is also located near the site of what used to be one of the main citadels of Fes el-Bali, the Kasbah Bou Jeloud, as well as near the Kasbah en-Nouar. The old Bab Bou Jeloud gate was a simple, modest gate that may have dated essentially from the 12th century. It gave access directly to the start of Tala'a Kebira, the main souq street that crosses the medina and leads to the Qarawiyyin mosque and university at the heart of the city. The gate's passage was set at an angle perpendicular to Tala'a Kebira and parallel to the city wall, meaning that one entered sideways onto Tala'a Kebira. This type of configuration was fairly common in old Moroccan city gates, as it made it easier to defend and to control access. This original gate is still visible to the left of the current monumental gate (when facing it from the outside), but it is closed off today. After the advent of gunpowder and heavy artillery, the fortifications of old cities like Fez were no longer particularly useful as serious military defenses (though they were still effective at keeping out rural tribes who were poorly armed), and city gates took on a mostly decorative role. Following the establishment of the French Protectorate over Morocco in 1912, the French took over the administration of the city and appear to have wanted a grander entrance to the old city. The chief of municipal services, Captain Mellier, soon laid out plans in December 1912 to open a new ent
Size: 7180px × 4792px
Location: Fes, Morocco
Photo credit: © Bert de Ruiter / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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