Fes

Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fes, Morocco, is the world's oldest continuously operating institution of higher learning, founded in 859 CE by Fatima al-Fihri. The mosque complex contains 14 prayer halls and can accommodate up to 20,000 worshippers. The adjacent Al-Qarawiyyin University, recognized by UNESCO as the world's oldest degree-granting institution, attracted medieval scholars including Ibn Khaldun and profoundly influenced the development of higher education worldwide.

The Chouara Tanneries of Fes are Morocco's most extraordinary working relic, where hides are still processed by hand in the same round stone dyeing vats using plant-based dyes as in medieval times. The kaleidoscopic spectacle of the vats filled with saffron, indigo, poppy red, and cedar brown is best viewed from the leather shop galleries above. Workers wading through the dye baths in this centuries-old choreography of craft is one of Africa's most unforgettable sights.