Deirdre McQuillanprefers Fez to Marrakesh, and meets a Parisian doing up houses near the medina
Appearances can be deceptive in Fez. At first sight, the renowned l4th-century Moroccan city seems like a windowless maze of blonde sandstone walls, surrounded by dusty, crenellated ramparts. The late writer and Moroccan resident Paul Bowles argued that the symbol of the old imperial city was the blank wall.
Visitors quickly discover, however, that behind these high walls and along dark and narrow passageways, lie houses of extraordinary beauty and decoration, in keeping with the Arab ideal of outward modesty hiding inner loveliness. According to Unesco, the old walled city of Fez contains 12,000 classified houses, many of them now being restored or turned into guesthouses. It has been estimated that more than 120 are currently being renovated.
Property predators are pouncing, particularly the British. In the course of a few days in the city, I met an English couple from Provence who wanted to move from France to Fez; a London couple looking for a weekend pied-à-terre; and a French couple who had just bought a stunningly beautiful caliph's palace to convert into a boutique hotel.
Since it started its service earlier this year, Ryanair is bringing in 4,000 extra tourists a week to the city, travellers undeterred by the 6.30am flight from London Luton. Given that Marrakesh is now 90 per cent owned by foreigners, many are apprehensive about the accelerating pace of development.
Why Fez? Until the 20th century, it was the largest and richest city in Morocco and although the seat of government is now in Rabat, it still remains the country's cultural and spiritual heart. It is also a great historic craft centre, the skills of its many artisans of wood, leather or clay the pride of Morocco. Fez medina, the largest in North Africa, is a seemingly inexhaustible labyrinth of twisting, narrow alleys - said to be over 10,000 in all - spread out over 900 acres where blacksmiths, weavers, metalworkers, tanners and potters ply their trade. Life is lived there much as it was several hundred years ago. Along the alleyways, men twist skeins of silk, carve leather or hammer brass; there's even somebody specialising in the restoration of old powder muskets.
Rubber-shod donkeys and mules, or "the medina Mercedes", provide the only form of transportation in the narrow passageways. Laden with bricks, animal skins or crates of Coke, you ignore the cry of "balak! balak!" (watch out! watch out!) at your peril.
"The word most people use to describe Fez is 'authentic'," says Fez resident Stephen di Renza, who first came to the city seven years ago from Paris to recuperate after surgery. "It's a city that very quickly clears out my head," he adds.
Having fallen under its spell, the Philadelphia-born design director of Dunhill decided there and then to buy a place. It was only when he had viewed around 30 properties that he finally found the house he wanted, right in the heart of the medina. Located up a blind alley, its simple wooden front doors belie the splendour inside.
"It was constructed for a rich merchant in 1840, who used it as a guest house for clients. At the time, the city was the capital and the construction illustrated the cultural confidence of the period," he explains, pointing out the ornate deeds of the house now framed in the hallway.
Of great beauty, the three-storey house has a fine entrance courtyard complete with fountain, filigree plasterwork, ornate tiling, massive brass-studded wooden doors and handpainted woodwork in the classic Hispano-Moorish style. An extensive roof terrace provides mesmerising views over the city.
The restoration took about two years and involved numerous trips to and from Paris. "I found a wonderful mason who explained how these houses were made and I built up relationships with good people," he says. Craftsmen restored wood and metalwork, cleaned tiles, and at one point, as many as 75 people worked with him on the site.
A restorer friend from the Louvre came from Paris and, with cotton buds, uncovered painted cedarwood details. However, the most challenging job was removing a metre of rubble underneath the floor in one of the bedrooms.
"It was the most expensive thing because it had to be taken away by donkeys - hundreds of donkeys. That's why the previous owners found it cheaper just to cover it over."
Di Renza is a man of impressive style and charm whose favourite occupation is combing local flea markets, and his furnishings reflect his wide interests and travels.
He has lived in London, Paris and Hanoi and worked as a product designer for Habitat and Neiman Marcus among others. His love of handcraft is evident everywhere, from the Vietnamese celadon pottery, prototypes for Habitat, to the ingenious four-piece rooftop table made for him locally and bed throws composed from Berber blankets. An old English coal scuttle does duty as a cabinet, vintage kaftans make striking wall displays and recycled barbers' chairs are now bathroom furniture. Everything has a story.
Working with craftsmen is something he clearly enjoys and values, and he would love to see the famous but fading Glaoui palace nearby restored as a craft centre, where visitors could learn about the historic city's great traditions. "Marrakesh is for a spa weekend; this is more of a cultural destination. It's different. It's good that people are coming here to restore these houses and that the right kind of people are doing it," he says. And he has words of advice for those considering buying. "To save money, the way is to take time. People here have all the time in the world, and beginning to develop relationships can take you a long way. That's the way it works here . . . The guy who sells the vegetables can also be a real estate agent."
Di Renza's next project is restoring a smaller place next door, which he has just acquired. Transforming old houses seems to come naturally to someone who found his own spiritual and physical restoration in Fez. And it's not just bricks and mortar. A little abandoned kitten rescued in the medina has also received the tender di Renza treatment. It's now the latest resident of the house and with its long silky fur, the colour of tortoiseshell, it is the picture of good health. u
• GETTING THERE: Ryanair flies from London Luton to Fez Sais on Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday