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Rabat – Thanks to its popularity for walks and picnics, Jnan Sbil in Fez’s medina is always teeming with life.
Fez’s wali, Said Zniber, clearly sees even further potential for the park. Last Thursday, Zniber called a meeting with the presidents of the Spirit of Fez Foundation, the Fez-Saïss Association, the Regional Tourist Board of Fes Boulemane (CRT), for a meeting to discuss future animation projects and other ways to improve the park.
Presidents of the Agency for the Dedensification and Rehabilitation of the Medina of Fez (ADER), the Euromed University of Fez (UEMF), and the Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University (USMBA) were also in attendance.
Aziz Lebbar, president of CRT, told the meeting of Fez’s tourism and academic experts “that Jnan Sbil should welcome at least as many tourists as the Majorelle Garden in Marrakech.”
“The Jnan Sbil garden could become a hotbed of cultural, musical, and cinematographic animation,” he added. The other officials agreed that “the city of Fez has great tourism potential thanks to its renewed medina and unique sites.”
Jnan Sbil is one of the oldest gardens in Fez, having opened to the public in by Moulay Hassan in the 19th century. The garden encompasses 7.5 hectares and is located in the heart of the city, and offer a quiet area filled with plants, fountains, walkways, and orchards in the middle of the bustling city.
Thursday’s meeting of tourism officials is part of a larger plan to drive up tourism in Fez, one of the oldest cities in the Muslim world known to as the cultural and spiritual capital of Morocco.
In March, Morocco’s Tourism Minister Mohamed Sajid has announced plans to rebuild Fez’s image to increase tourism this year. Sajid’s plan is to “give back to the city its old attractiveness,” according to an official statement on March 3.
The city has seen a resurgence of government-funded reconstruction projects. Under King Mohammed VI, an initial MAD 583 million urbanization project was launched in 2018 to give the city a new and attractive look.
The project included the renovation of dozens of historical monuments, street maintenance, improved or modernized urban planning, the construction of new parking spots with extended capacity, and reconstruction work in and around the medina.
