Ibn Danan Synagogue

The Ibn Danan Synagogue is one of the most important reminders of the Jewish community that once filled the Mellah of Fes. A synagogue has stood on the site since the 17th century, and the present building was completed in 1701, although one historian dates its construction to 1680. Tradition credits the merchant Mimon Boussidan with building it. From 1812 until the community dwindled in the 1960s, its rabbis all came from the Ibn Danan family, whose lineage is traced back to 15th-century Granada, and the synagogue is named after Rabbi Shlomo Ibn Danan, who led it in the early 20th century.

From the street there is little to see. The entrance is a plain doorway that looks like those of the houses around it, a common feature of synagogues in Moroccan mellahs. Inside, the prayer hall is dominated by a large carved wooden ark, the hekhal, which fills one wall, with carved plasterwork above. Opposite the ark is a raised alcove behind a carved wooden screen, intended for the most distinguished members of the congregation.

The most memorable discovery came in 1997, when a mikveh, or ritual bath, was found against the eastern wall. Steps lead down into a vaulted chamber beneath the bimah, where a basin was fed by an underground water channel. It gives a vivid sense of how the building served the daily religious life of the quarter.

The synagogue was placed on the World Monuments Watch in 1996, and it was restored with the help of the World Monuments Fund, with funding from American Express and in collaboration with the Moroccan Ministry of Culture and the Judeo-Moroccan Cultural Heritage Foundation. It reopened in 1999. Visiting arrangements are informal, so it helps to go with a guide or ask locally; leaving a small donation is a courteous gesture. Allow 20 to 30 minutes, and dress respectfully.

The synagogue stands against the outer wall of the Mellah in Fes el-Jdid, a few minutes' walk from Place des Alaouites and the gates of the Royal Palace. Combine it with a walk along Rue des Mérinides, with its wooden balconies, and a visit to the Jewish Cemetery in the south-western corner of the Mellah, where a former synagogue now houses a small museum. Together they make a rewarding half day on the quieter side of Fes.