Fes el-Bali is divided by the Oued Fez river into two halves. The western bank (Adwat al-Qarawiyyin) is the more famous, containing Al-Qarawiyyin, Bou Inania, and the tanneries. The eastern bank — the Andalusian quarter — was founded by refugees from Córdoba in the ninth century and retains a slightly different character: quieter, less touristed, with narrower alleys and better preserved domestic architecture.
The Andalusian Mosque at the heart of the quarter is one of the oldest in the city, originally founded in 859. The entrance gates are particularly fine — the carved facade visible from the alley is decorated with Merinid-era tilework. The neighbourhood beyond the mosque is worth losing yourself in without a destination: the tourist pressure disappears within a block or two, and the medina returns to being a functioning city rather than a sight.