The Fortifications of Fez (also spelled Fes) comprise a complex circuit of ramparts and gates surrounding Fes el-Bali and Fes el-Jdid, two urban agglomerations that compose the old "medina" of Fes, Morocco. They also include a number of kasbahs (citadels) and forts which were built both to protect and to control the city. These fortifications have been built up over many centuries and the extensive remnants today date from many different periods.
The city walls underwent a complex evolution over the centuries with multiple phases of expansion, destruction, and reconstruction affecting different parts of the city's outline. Likewise, the city gates vary greatly in design and date, ranging from heavily fortified defensive gates to simple openings in the walls today. The walls marked both the physical and symbolic limits of the city (and sometimes also of its subdivisions), and as such the gates themselves could acquire added social or political significance.[1] The city's major cemeteries are also located just outside the main gates, in particular: Bab Ftouh, Bab Mahrouk, and Bab Guissa.