The 14th-century Marinid Tombs overlooking Fez al-Bali

Nestled upon a lofty hill, these Marinid Tombs guard the secrets of a forgotten age, high above the bustling city of Fez. Originally a royal necropolis for the Marinid dynasty, which ruled Morocco in the 13th to 15th centuries, the ruined tombs are attributed to the 14th century.

The Marinids captured Fez in 1250 and later constructed Fes el-Jdid alongside the existing city. They may have established an earlier palace, named al-Qula, on the hill where the tombs now stand. Remnants of a mosque and a bathhouse, linked to al-Qula, can still be seen today.

The Marinid Tombs, created for the burials of the Marinid family, were the site where two Marinid stelae (tombstones) were discovered in the 20th century. One belonged to a young princess called Zineb who died in 1335 and the other belonged to a high official named Abu Ali al-Nasir who died at beginning of the same century. These stelae now reside at the Dar Batha Museum in Fez.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons