Fez, melting pot of religions & cultures, UN says

The Moroccan city of Fez, which recently hosted the Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, has long been a melting pot of religions and cultures, the UN press service states.

An article published Sunday on the UN press service website notes that the 200-year-old Jewish cemetery of Fez symbolizes the centuries-long coexistence of diverse communities in the city and stands as a symbol of cultural harmony.

“We lived in harmony. There was no tension. We all knew we were Jews, Muslims, or Catholics, and we never had any problems on that side,” Johanna Devico Ohana, a Jewish who ensures the maintenance of the city’s cemetery, was quoted by the UN press service as saying.

Before he died, Johanna Devico Ohana’s father asked her to promise him one thing: “if I ever die when I’m in France”, he insisted, “bring me to Fez”. He also asked her to take care of the Jewish cemetery, a role that was his responsibility before he passed away. His daughter agreed to both requests, and her father is laid to rest in the cemetery, the article indicates.

“My father was a lover of Morocco and a lover of Fez”, says Ms. Ohana, who was born and raised in the city.

The Jewish cemetery, nestled in the Mellah, is distinguished by its semi-cylindrical tombs, which capture the history of Morocco’s flourishing Jewry. Today, Fez is known for its religion, art, sciences, craftwork, and trade activities. The Fez Medina, often described as Morocco’s cultural and spiritual center, is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the UN article recalls.

The age-old intermingling of peoples made Fez an appropriate location for the ninth Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), which took place in November 2022, the website adds.

Morocco “is built around a model of openness, harmony and synergy that has seen the convergence of Arab-Islamic, Amazigh and Saharan-Hassanian confluents, and that has, at the same time, been enriched by African, Andalusian, Hebrew and Mediterranean tributaries,” André Azoulay, adviser to King Mohammed VI, said during the opening of the UNAOC 9th Forum, the UN agency indicates.

Located in northern Morocco, on the Wadi Fez, the city was founded in the ninth century, and served as the capital of Morocco for hundreds of years. In the year 809, King Idriss II encouraged Jews to move to Fez, so the city could benefit from their skills, the UN article recalls.