Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts

The Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts occupies a restored 18th-century fondouk, or merchants' inn, on Place an-Nejjarine in Fes el-Bali, Morocco. A fondouk was a caravanserai where traders stayed and stored goods, and this one, named after the carpenters' (nejjarin) guild, served the woodworking quarter. After years of decay, the building was restored and opened as a museum in the late 1990s. It has three floors around a central courtyard, with carved cedar balconies, painted ceilings, zellige panels and a fountain. The collection focuses on Moroccan woodwork and includes carved doors and window screens, musical instruments, chests, cradles, wedding furniture, writing boards and carpenters' tools, as well as items related to domestic life such as incense burners and decorated boxes. Exhibits are displayed thematically by object type and craft technique, and show how cedar, walnut and thuya were cut, joined and painted by local artisans. Some rooms are arranged to resemble historic interiors. The museum also shows how wood is used in the medina's architecture, including doors, lintels and mashrabiya screens. Labels are in Arabic, French and English in some rooms. From the top floor, a rooftop café offers views across the medina's roofs and minarets, which is one of the principal attractions of a visit. The adjacent Nejjarine fountain, covered in zellige and carved cedar, is itself a landmark. The entry fee is modest, around MAD 20, and a visit usually takes 30 to 45 minutes. It sits close to the Zaouia of Moulay Idriss II and the Qarawiyyin quarter, so it is easy to include in a medina walk.