Dine on the terrace of a caravanserai

From caravanserai to table

Before hotels existed, Fès had fondouks — merchant inns with a courtyard below and rooms above, where traders from across Morocco shared meals and struck deals.

Fondouk Kettanine — also known as Fondouk Jdid, "the new fondouk" — was built in the late 19th century, during the reign of Sultan Moulay Hassan I, to lodge the merchants visiting the city. It stands in Al Qatanin, the historic quarter of the cotton and linen traders, whose name the fondouk still carries: kettan means linen.

Today the rooftop welcomes travellers again — zellige, cedar, carved plaster. When you dine with us, you're continuing a story that began more than a century ago.

"Guests have arrived here for more than a century. Now, we cook for them."

• Late 1800s — The caravanserai is built

  Built by Sultan Moulay Hassan I to shelter merchants in the heart of the Medina.

• 1900s — The merchants' inn

  Traders of cotton, linen and crafts fill its courtyard — the fondouk lives at the rhythm of the souks.

• 1981 — A world treasure

  The Medina of Fès is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• Today — The rooftop

  The terrace above the old courtyard becomes Fez Medina Rooftop Restaurant & Lounge — panoramic dining, reached by elevator.