In the seventeenth century, the Alawite Sultan Moulay Ismail decided to Meknes one of the most beautiful imperial cities of Morocco. Today, the city still has a very rich history that has earned it a World Heritage Site by Unesco. Here's an overview of this key destination in northern Morocco.
A city steeped in history
Capital of the administrative region of Meknes-Tafilalet, in the north, Meknes is the third largest city in Morocco.
This city was founded in the eleventh century by the Almoravids as a military settlement. It derives its name from the large Berber tribe Meknassa, which dominated the eastern Morocco Tafilalet until the eighth century.
It is also one of the four imperial cities, it was the capital during the reign of Sultan Moulay Ismail Alawi (1672-1727). This transformed the city into an impressive city in Spanish-Moorish style, protected by high walls with great doors.
An exceptional heritage
In the seventeenth century, Sultan Moulay Ismail in Meknes has one of the finest and most powerful imperial cities of Morocco. Even today, many monuments bear witness to this prosperous period.
The city also has many mosques, which earned him the nickname of city of minarets percent. Most notable is undoubtedly the Grand Mosque, with its doors to beautiful carved canopies.
Its medina and the remains of the royal palace (pictured below) earned the historic center of Meknes to be a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996.
Places to see
The main historical monuments of Meknes are immune to high defensive walls pierced with nine monumental gates. These huge walls reach up to 15 m high and make this city one of the finest fortified cities in the Maghreb.
Enter the most imposing of Morocco or North Africa historic center through the Bab Mansour! The heart of the city is home to no less than twenty-five mosques, palaces, steam rooms, large granaries, remains of fondouks (hotels for merchants) and private homes, dating from the Almoravid periods Merinid and Alawite.
Strolling through its streets, you will discover many wonders:
- The Nejjarine Mosque (tenth century) in the center of the medina.
- Great Mosque (twelfth century) with its eleven gates and one hundred to forty-three arcades
- The mausoleum of Moulay Ismail: open to non-Muslims, it houses the tomb of Sultan
- Medersa Bou Inania: theological institute founded in the fourteenth century
- Palace Dar El Makhzen was once the palace of the Sultan Moulay Ismail
- Regional Ethnographic Museum, housed in the Dar Jamai Palace and its beautiful garden
Meknes has one of the busiest medinas of Morocco. Place El-Hedime, located between the old town and the Imperial part of the city, is home to an indoor market that comes alive at dusk.
About thirty kilometers north of the city is the largest Roman archaeological site in Morocco: the ruins of Volubilis (with a triumphal arch, a capitol, a house of Bacchus and beautiful mosaics).
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