Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts

The Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts is housed in a restored 18th-century funduq, a merchants' inn, on Place Nejjarine in Fès el-Bali, Morocco. The area takes its name from the carpenters (nejjarin) who worked here, and the square is dominated by the Nejjarine Fountain, a richly tiled public fountain. The funduq was built in the Alaouite period to lodge traders and store goods, with rooms around a central courtyard and three levels of galleries. After decades of neglect it was restored in the 1990s by the Moroccan authorities with international support and opened as a museum in 1998. The collection concentrates on woodworking, with a focus on cedar, walnut and thuya. Exhibits include carved doors and window frames, painted chests, furniture, cradles and wedding items, musical instruments, carpenters' tools, and decorative panels and brackets. Objects are arranged thematically by type and technique, showing how craftspeople carved, joined and painted wood for houses, mosques and madrasas. The building itself is a fine example of woodwork, with carved cedar balconies, painted ceilings and stucco, and the upper floors show the layout of merchants' rooms. The rooftop terrace has a cafe with views over the medina and the green-tiled roof of the Moulay Idriss shrine. The restoration retained original structural elements, and the building has stayed in good condition. Admission is about 20 MAD, and the museum opens daily from around 10:00 to 17:00. A visit takes 45 minutes to an hour and fits well with a walk through the nearby carpenters' and brassworkers' souks.