A Living Islamic City Fez and Its Preservation

The Moroccan city of Fez, founded in the ninth century CE, is one of the most precious urban jewels of Islamic civilization. For more than 40 years Titus Burckhardt worked to document and preserve the artistic and architectural heritage of Fez in particular and Morocco in general. These newly translated lectures, delivered while Burckhardt was living and working in Fez, explore how the historic city can be preserved without turning it from a living organism into a dead museum-city, and how it can be adapted and updated using the values that gave birth to the city and its way of life. Aided by photographs and sketches made during the course of his lifetime, Burckhardt conveys what it means to be a living Islamic city.

Titus Burckhardt (1908-1984) was a leading member of the “Traditionalist” school of comparative religious thought and an expert on Islam, Islamic arts and crafts, and its spiritual dimension, Sufism. The great-nephew of the famous art-historian Jacob Burckhardt, he lived for many years in Fez, Morocco and was an integral part of the Moroccan government's successful preservation of the ancient medina of Fez as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. In 1999 the Moroccan government sponsored an international symposium in Marrakesh in honor of Burckhardt's distinguished work. His writings include Fez: City of Islam and Art of Islam.

Jean-Louis Michon (1924-2013) was a “Traditionalist” writer, editor, translator, Arabist, and artistic consultant who specialized in Islam in North Africa, Islamic art, and Sufism. From 1972-1980 Michon was Chief Technical Adviser to a series of joint programs by UNESCO, the UN Development Program, and the Moroccan government aimed at the preservation of traditional arts and crafts. He is the author of Autobiography (Fahrasa) of a Moroccan Sufi and Introduction to Traditional Islam, Illustrated.

Joseph A. Fitzgerald studied Comparative Religion at Indiana University, where he also earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree. He is an award-winning editor whose previous publications include The Essential Sri Anandamayi Ma and Spirit of the Indian Warrior. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana.

Foreword by Joseph A. Fitzgerald vii

Introduction by Jean-Louis Michon ix

Author's Preface xvii

I. A Model City

1. Constants of Arabo-Islamic Urbanism 3

2. Saving the Medina 17

II. A Living Heritage

3. Permanent Values of Maghribi Art 33

4. Traditional Craftsmanship: Its Nature and Destiny 49

Appendix I: Sanctuaries of the Medina 61

Appendix II: Key Thoughts 67

Sources 69

Glossary of Terms 71

List of Illustrations 73

Index of People, Places, and Terms 75

Biographical Notes 79