Located between the fertile lands of the Saïs and the forests of the Middle Atlas, Fès is the oldest of Morocco’s imperial cities. It is the embodiment of the country’s history and its spiritual and religious capital, and has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Morocco’s third-largest city, it consists of Fès el-Bali, the historic centre; Fès el-Jedid, the imperial city of the Merinids; and, located further south, the modern districts created under the Protectorate. Idriss I founded Madinat Fas, on the right bank of the River Fès, in 789. In 808, his son, Idriss II, built another town on the left bank, which was known as El-Alya (High Town). In 818, these two cities, each within their own walls, received hundreds of Muslim families who had been expelled from Córdoba. Soon afterwards, some 300 refugee families from Kairouan, in Tunisia, found asylum in El-Alya, which then became known as Karaouiyine, after them. Within a few years, thanks to these two communities, the two towns became the centre of the Arabization and Islamization of Morocco. In the mid-11th century, the Almoravids united the two towns, building a wall around them. The Almohads took the city in 1145, after a long siege. Fès then became the country’s foremost cultu ral and economic metropolis, thanks in large part to the founding of its university. In 1250, the Merinids raised Fès to the status of imperial capital and endowed it with prestigious buildings. To the west of the old town they established a new royal city, Fès el-Jedid (New Fès). Conquered by the Alaouites in 1666, Fès was spur ned by Moulay Ismaïl, who chose Meknès as his capital. The city’s decline continued until the early 20th century. When the Protectorate was established in 1912, a Ville Nouvelle (New Town) was built. After independence this was filled by the prosperous citizens of the old medina, while the country people, rootless and poor, crowded into the old town. However, UNESCO’s ongoing restoration programme has saved the historic city of Fès el-Bali.