The name Bou Jeloud dates from well before the existence of the current gate. By one account, the name is a vernacular corruption of the expression Abu al-Junud ("Father of the troops"), referring to a parade ground or military square, in this case the large square known as Place Bou Jeloud (now also called Place el-Baghdadi) just west of the gate.

The name Bou Inania (Bū 'Ināniya) is derived from the name of its founder, the Marinid sultan Faris ibn Ali Abu Inan al-Mutawakkil (generally Abou Inan or Abu Inan for short).It was originally named the Madrasa al-Muttawakkiliya but the name Madrasa Bu Inania has been retained instead. He was the son and successor of Sultan Abu al-Hasan, under whose reign the Marinid empire reached its apogee and expanded all the way to Tunis in the east.

In the Middle Ages, the University of Al Qarawiyyin played a significant role in the mediation of culture and knowledge between Muslims and Europeans. In the fourteenth century, 8000 students from the Maghreb and Egypt were trained in Fez. The university also played an important role in spreading the teachings of Maliki School, one of four Sunni Islamic sects, which has adopted the doctrine of Imam Malik ibn Anas, in all the regions of North Africa.

The al-Attarine madrasa was built between 1323 and 1325 on the orders of the Marinid sultan Abu Sa'id Uthman II. The supervisor of construction was Sheikh Beni Abu Muhammad Abdallah ibn Qasim al-Mizwar. According to the Rawd el-Qirtas (historical chronicle), the sultan personally observed the laying of the madrasa's foundations, in the company of loca

Chouara Tannery (sometimes spelled Chouwara is one of the three tanneries in the city of Fez, Morocco. It is the largest tannery in the city and one of the oldest. It is located in the Fes el Bali, the oldest medina quarter of the city, near the Saffarin Madrasa along the Oued Fes (also known as the Oued Bou Khrareb). Since the inception of the city, the tanning industry has been continually operating in the same fashion as it did in the early centuries. Today, the tanning industry in the city is considered one of the main tourist attractions. The tanneries are packed with the round stone vessels filled with dye or white liquids for softening the hides. The leather goods produced in the tanneries are exported around the world.