Nejjarine Museum

About Nejjarine Museum

Moroccan cultural heritage site

The Funduq al-Najjarin, on Nejjarine Square in the heart of Fes el-Bali near the henna souk, is one of the best-known buildings in the city. A funduq is a merchants' inn: built in the 18th century under the Alaouites, it kept pack animals and goods on the ground floor and lodged traders from the interior upstairs. It takes its name from the carpenters' souk that has surrounded the square since Marinid times, and the lanes nearby still ring with mallets and smell of cedar. The three-storey building rises around a square courtyard with carved wooden galleries, and its façade faces the square under a huge carved wooden canopy, beside the Nejjarine fountain clad in zellij and stucco, together one of the finest architectural ensembles in old Fez. It was listed as a national monument in 1916 and restored as part of the medina conservation programme. Today it houses the Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts: doors, ceilings, windows, chests, musical instruments and traditional tools that tell the story of Atlas cedar in Moroccan homes and mosques. The rooftop café looks over the medina.

Where:

Fez, Morocco