Bab al-Amer is one of the main historic gates of Fes el-Jdid, set in the massive circuit of Merinid walls that still largely enclose the royal quarter. Like most of Fez's medina gates, it is built in the horseshoe arch style with carved stone and decorative brickwork. It marks one of the entrances to the older parts of Fes el-Jdid from the direction of the Mellah.
The walls around Bab al-Amer give a sense of the scale of the Merinid fortification project — these are not ornamental walls but serious defensive structures, ten metres high and thick enough to walk on. Taken together, the gates and walls of Fes el-Bali and Fes el-Jdid form one of the most impressive medieval fortification systems still standing in the Arab world.