2007-11-22, Moroccan Adventure: Fes - 修复Merdes（在线收听）

This monument to Islamic heritage is getting a new lease on life. The Bou Inania Medersa or Koranic school was once an architectural jewel of the medieval city of Fes. But centuries of neglect have taken a toll. Restorers are cleaning layers of white wash off of intricate plaster carvings. It's slow work,but when it's done they hope the Medersa will shine again as a masterpiece and a testament to the grand artistic legacy of their city. Muslim refugees from Spain and Tunisia founded Fes in the 9th century, by the 1300s, it was one of the cultural capitals of the Islamic world, a center for art and learning.

Today its Medina or historic city center is a living museum of Morocco's Islamic heritage.

"Probably the best preserved Islamic Medina in the world right now, there're thousands of traditional houses that are, er, some of them going back 700 years."

The Medina is culturally rich but its people are poor. Historic preservation often takes second place to more basic concerns. The people who live in them, usually 5 or 6 families renting a room or 2 each can't afford to make repairs. Historic homes that aren't falling down are also in danger of a different kind. This 18th-century palace is being sold off piece by piece to antiquities dealers, a fountain was the first to go. In theory the government should protect Fes's historic buildings but in practice it's too big a job and so private citizens have stepped in, they are saving Fes's Medina house by house.

"It's distinct we need to protect and it's a part of our memory, it's a part of our history and it's a part of our daily life."

Private foundations are paying to restore monuments like the Medersa which will eventually become a museum of Islamic architecture. Fes has realized that its architectural history's too valuable to lose. There is still a lot of work to be done and not only on restoration. Renovating palaces and historic monuments won't cure poverty and poverty is the ultimate source of Fes's woes. But preserving the city's architectural heritage ensures that at least these riches will endure.
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