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The word "mellah" as in the name Fez Mellah, Fez is analogous to the European ghetto. It is a Jewish quarter in the city of Morocco with a walled boundary. Fez Mellah is also walled and it has a fortified gateway as well. These Jewish quarters are located near the royal residencies so that the inhabitants are protected from the wrath of the Muslim populace. Fez Mellah is a place that is solely inhabited by the Jews.
Fez Mellah in the 15th century
This was the first "mellah" set up in the city of Fez in the year 1438. In the early 14th century it was founded by the Marinids, beside Fez. This was originally allocated to the Christian military forces and also the archers. Then after some time the Jews were driven out of Fez to Hims. Hims had the name of "al-mallah" which meant the "saline area". From then on the term designated the fact that it was the Jewish quarters in all the other Moroccan cities as well.
Fez Mellah in the 16th - 18th century
Fez Mellah remained the one of its type for a very long time and it was during the 1550s that the name "mellah" appeared in Marrakesh. The settlements here consisted of mainly the Jews. Fez had two huge gates and at 9 pm in the evening these were shut and no one could enter or go out of the walled city after this. The gates were opened the next day. The Jews who lived here also had a separate market of their own. Later in the 19th century the Jews were forced to stay in "mellahs" that were made in Tetouan, Rabat, Sale and Mogador.
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