4 min read
Moroccan ceramics and zellige tiles: a short history
Two different crafts get lumped together as "Moroccan tile," and the more striking one is entirely hand-cut.
Written by Morocco Tailored Tours.
Zellige is the geometric mosaic tilework covering fountains, courtyards, and mosque walls across the imperial cities, and it's a genuinely different craft from painted pottery, even though visitors lump both together as "Moroccan tile." Each tile is glazed a single colour, fired, then hand-chopped into small geometric pieces called furmah, assembled face-down into a pattern before being set in plaster or mortar. No two tiles come out quite identical. That's part of why hand-cut zellige has a texture machine-made tile just doesn't.
Fez is still the traditional centre of the craft. The skill gets passed down through years of apprenticeship, not formal schooling. A master chisels the geometric shapes freehand, following patterns repeated for centuries but never mechanically reproduced.
Painted ceramics are a separate tradition altogether: bowls, plates, tagine pots, thrown or moulded, then hand-painted in the blue-and-white style associated with Fez, or the more colourful Safi pottery from the coast, glazed and fired a second time. It's a craft in its own right, distinct from zellige, even if they share shelf space in most souks.
Workshops in Fez's potters' quarter are usually open to visitors. Watching the cutting or the throwing in person changes how the finished pieces look once you're back in a souk stall.
Want to see how this works on a real route? Our 6-Day Imperial Cities Tour from Marrakech and 6-Day Morocco Food and Culture Tour from Tangier are private itineraries we can adjust to fit.
Planning around Fez? Read the Fez destination guide, browse all tours from Fez, or see 6-Day Imperial Cities Tour from Marrakech, a sample itinerary that includes it.
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6-Day Imperial Cities Tour from Marrakech
A private 6-day imperial cities tour from Marrakech through Casablanca, Rabat, Chefchaouen, Volubilis, Meknes and Fez, with no desert nights. The imperial cities and the blue Rif town without a single night in the desert: for travellers who came for the architecture, the history and the medinas, and would rather spend the extra days there than in a 4x4.
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6-Day Imperial Cities Tour from Marrakech
A private 6-day imperial cities tour from Marrakech through Casablanca, Rabat, Chefchaouen, Volubilis, Meknes and Fez, with no desert nights. The imperial cities and the blue Rif town without a single night in the desert: for travellers who came for the architecture, the history and the medinas, and would rather spend the extra days there than in a 4x4.
Visits Marrakech · Rabat · Chefchaouen · Volubilis · Meknes · Fez · +1 more
From€1,652(≈ $1,845 USD)€1,944 (≈ $2,170 USD)15% off, reserve by 17 Feb 2027per person, double or twin room
6-Day Morocco Food and Culture Tour from Tangier
A private 6-day Morocco food tour from Tangier covering Tangier, Fez and Marrakech. Tangier's own Spanish-and-Moroccan food culture, then Fez's tanneries and spice trade, then Marrakech's souks and street food: with hands-on cooking classes along the way.
Visits Tangier · Fez · Marrakech
From€1,409(≈ $1,575 USD)€1,658 (≈ $1,850 USD)15% off, reserve by 17 Feb 2027per person, double or twin room
7-Day Family Morocco Tour from Casablanca to Marrakech
A private 7-day family tour of Morocco from Casablanca to Marrakech, built around things children actually remember: a giant mosque over the sea, the blue streets of Chefchaouen, Roman mosaics, wild monkeys in the cedar forest and a night under the stars in a Sahara camp. The pace is gentle at the start and gets wilder as the trip goes on.
Visits Chefchaouen · Fez · Sahara Desert · Todra and Dades Gorges · Ait Benhaddou · Marrakech · +5 more
From€1,741(≈ $1,945 USD)€2,048 (≈ $2,290 USD)15% off, reserve by 17 Feb 2027per person, double or twin room