Fondouk Nejjarine, also known as the Musée du Bois, is a restored eighteenth-century caravanserai in the medieval heart of Fes, Morocco. Once a place where merchants and their goods came together, the building now houses a museum devoted to the traditions of Moroccan woodwork.
What to expect
The visit centres on the building itself. Its central courtyard and upper galleries show the refinement of Islamic architectural design, and the rooms display the wooden objects that have long been part of Moroccan craft. Because the museum is small and focused, it makes a calm stop rather than a long day out.
Why it suits a visit
- A restored caravanserai, which gives a sense of how trade once moved through the old city.
- A museum built around one craft, so the displays hang together.
- A courtyard and galleries that reward slow looking.
Fes is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities of the Arab world and its medina is a dense network of lanes, so the museum fits naturally into a walk through the old quarter. Visitors who enjoy craftsmanship will find the museum's theme a good complement to the workshops and markets nearby.
If you are deciding whether to go, consider the building as much as the collection: the courtyard and galleries are the heart of the visit, and the woodwork inside gives the architecture its context.
