Meknes

Meknes city was founded in the 9th century by the Meknassa tribe who had fled Kairouan in Tunisia. The Almohades destroyed the city to build a larger and more imposing city, between 1199 and 1213.
After the Almohads the Merinids built some Madrassas like Bou Anania in 1331 as well as also some mosques and Kasbah.

The Alawite Sultan Moulay Ismail began the construction of great palaces, gardens, monumental gates, and over 40 kilometers of walls of 15 meters in height.
He used at least 25,000 European slaves for the construction, kidnapped from European villages by Moroccan pirates. In 1696 the Sultan ordered the demolition of the El Badia Palace in Marrakesh to reuse materials in Meknes. The sultan chose Meknes as the capital of his empire in 1672.

Places to visit in Meknes

• Meknes Medina
• Bab Mansour Gate
• Agdal basin
• Hri Souani
• Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail
• Bou Anania Madrasa
• Bab al Khamis
• Bab Berdaine
• Qara Prison
• Museums Dar Jamaï