Urban Identity and Hydraulic Cultural Heritage in Fez Medina: Symbols, Management and Perspectives: Fid-Bau Portal

Urban Identity and Hydraulic Cultural Heritage in Fez Medina: Symbols, Management and Perspectives

Mouhcine, Ayacine / Aboubakr, Sabiri / Brahim, Akdim

We commonly identify the Medina of Fez (Morocco) by its cultural heritage. It has been recognized as a universal heritage of humanity since 1981 by UNESCO. It marks the identity of the city through its diversity, its originality, and its strong potential for attractiveness. This heritage has been built up through the twelve centuries of evolution of the city and its relationships with Europe (Al Andalus mainly), Sub-Saharan Africa, the Maghreb, and the Middle East. It includes among its important components tangible and intangible artefacts. The hydraulic monuments and their–practices and governance are highly represented in this cultural heritage. However, it is currently facing enormous challenges of degradation and raises many questions related both to its safeguarding and rehabilitation. It questions the alternatives offered as solutions to adapt the heritage to its new context needs and functions. Considering the cultural and environmental potential presented by this hydraulic heritage in a traditional urban context, this article highlights the urban logic linked to water use in Fez, throughout history. It is currently less valued, due to multiple constraints. Despite the rehabilitation and safeguarding efforts of the government and other actors, the hydraulic heritage of the medina of Fez faces many challenges that are apprehended in this study. We carried out intense fieldwork, including water flow and geolocation measurements. These methods rely on mobile gauging of water, mapping techniques, and tools. The purpose of this article is to present the results obtained about water management and hydraulic heritage sites in Fez, its forms of distribution and operating mechanisms, and then the main interactions between society and the environment over time. Following the study results, we suggest ideas for valuing and promoting this type of cultural heritage.