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MEKNES
The fifth city of Morocco is more joyful than Fez, its neighbor and rival. Is it also more "imperial"? With its immense prospects, its 25 km wall, its cyclopean stores, its vast fields of parade, with its buildings of gigantic proportions, yet harmonious, Meknes, the capital of Moulay Ismail, Morocco's largest builder, offers an impressive array . The tourist brochures were to give the name of the qualifier Meknes "Moroccan Versailles." But that's beside the ancient Assyrian capitals that fans should direct comparisons of their imagination, to the palace of Nimrud or Khorsabad.
Explore Meknes.
walks.
1-Medina. Less turbulent than that of Fez, it is nonetheless very pleasant to many kisarias and artisans who work the inlay.
2-The former imperial city. The broad perspectives and dimensions of impressive buildings have no counterpart in Morocco.
Living Meknes.
Discover the most beautiful views. The hill rises the hotel or go Transatlantic is you photographers who capture the stunning views of the northern ramparts. Why not return that evening for a drink at the terrace of this famous hotel history to admire the sunset?
Another nice view of the ramparts, this time in the South, leaving the royal stables. Browse
Meknes-drawn carriage. In recent years, the Municipality encourages this mode of transport for tourists. The carriages are brand new and stationed around the square el Hedim.
Changing of Arab thoroughbreds. In the stud of the city, grooms do not usually do pray for a few thoroughbreds out of their box and to change for you.
Enjoy the best kebabs in town. It's a tiny restaurant in the medina found, the general view, the best kebabs in the city: chopped meat kebabs, kefta, seasoned with a blend of herbs and spices which the employer keeps the secret. This small restaurant, nameless and without a sign is located at the entrance of the souk Nejjarin, coming from Bab Berrima.
Taste the best olives from Morocco. The reputation of the merchants olive won across the country. Market Square El Hedi, you will find dozens of different preparations. The use-and politeness - we want to taste several before making his choice. One way to pay tribute to the craftsman who developed them.
stroll in the new town. The bars are flowering and the atmosphere is happier than Fez. You can finish in one of the nightclubs in the city to the sound of an orchestra: friendly atmosphere, and few tourists.
Meknes instructions.
We will visit the Medina on foot from the Place el Hedim next to which one can park, We will then short-hop by car to visit the imperial city because the distances are long enough. Prepare currency for which you seek the guards at each stop. In summer the heat can be overwhelming. Warning: the excursion in the Massif Zerhoun, ATVs highly recommended.
Program.
Someday. After admiring the Bab el Mansour Aleuj, we will devote the morning of Moroccan art of Dar Jamai, then to the souks and the Madrasa Bou Inania. the afternoon, the piece de resistance: the monuments of ancient imperial city. If there is time, we will finish the day by visiting the Roman ruins of Volubilis Roman, or you can sleep.
two days. Even early in the program, but evening and night in Meknes. In order to avoid the heat, it will be appreciated very early the next morning at the site of Volubilis, Moulay Idriss before winning. the holy city.
Meknes in history.
"Meknes the olive "Meknassa Zeitoum ez, is the name under which a group from the great Berber tribe Meknassa founded the city while a second group was founded Meknassa Taza, Taza ie. It was, in Originally a series of villages built along the river whose chronicles of the time extolling the riches vegetables, olives, figs, etc.. There are still "matmoras" grain silos buried in the floor walls coated with hydraulic lime. They go back to the time of the "Black Sultan", head of the Almoravids. The latter, led by Ibn Tasufin, took possession of Meknes in 1069. They built the first bastion of monitoring the location of the current Mosque El berdain and a kasbah on the board (today district of everything). First
prosperity, the first decline. After an initial failure of Ibn Toumert who, around 1120, tried to raise the public against the Almoravids, his successor Abd el Mou'men, real founder of the Almohad dynasty, established his camp before the city takes Kasbat in 1145.Abd el Mou'men destroys it. he built on the site of his camp a new city remarkable for its grid pattern typical of Almohads. Treated rigorously, the city was deserted. Over time, measures were taken softer, bringing him a measure of prosperity. But this prosperous era did not last long. Meknes was hit hard by the chaos that marked the demise of the Almohad in the advent of Meridians, they established their Makhzen abandoned kasbah in and built, among other things, the madrasah Bou Inania. After a short period of peace under the Merida, marked by few major urban works, the city will undergo further weakening the dynasty. The wise government of Abu Zakaria Ouattaside then, after 1547, the success of Saadiens will know him some respite.
the capital of Moulay Ismail. Fearing the rebellious spirit of the people of Fes and Marrakech, the second Moroccan king (1672-1727) would make the fortune of Meknes by transferring the seat of its capital.
With untiring zeal, he began to develop grandiose monuments. He assigns this task to an army of laborers, masons and laborers recruited from slaves or convicted criminals. he obliged to work the surrounding tribes. Christian captives held in Meknes also took part. their numbers never exceeded a few hundred, but after taking Larache (1689) where he rose for a time, until 3000.
A sovereign everywhere. Moulay Ismail was sparing no effort. he watched him same work, sometimes punishing with death the least anxious, setting an example by hand the pie.
a few years, he razed the old kasbah Merinid and destroyed an entire neighborhood south of the old city. there erected miles of bastions and ramparts, monumental gates, barns and stables huge deep pools and spacious gardens, mosques, kasbas for his guard, arsenals, training grounds and palace his harem. Many monuments and Volubilis Marrakech (including El Badi Palace) had to suffer this zeal manufacturer.
The ardor of Moulay Ismail is also manifested in the diplomatic field. After signing with Louis XIV, treaty (1682), which was hardly a scrap of paper, he made numerous unsuccessful approaches to marry Marie-Anne de Bourbon, legitimate daughter of the King of France and Louise de la Valliere and future Princess of Conti.
The end of a great dream. Despite the continuing work by his son Moulay Abdullah and construction companies by Sidi Mohammed ben Abdellah, Meknes, which became the fourth imperial city and the center of the empire of Moulay Ismail, declined rapidly after the death of the illustrious sovereign. Huge projects were abandoned, and the sultans moved their residence sometimes in Fez, sometimes in Marrakech.
Meknes today
Two distinct cities separated by the valley of Wadi Boufekrane, make up the city. the old city includes the imperial city and the Medina, the latter, without possessing the charm that of Fez, is nevertheless very pleasant.
new town, built from 1920 on a neighboring shelf, it is also fun, but if it does not have a landmark building.
Finally, if Meknes is a city happy, it may be that it is in the main wine-producing region of the country ...
Medina
carved wooden doors and awnings along this worked Medina, less sumptuous than that of Fez, but also peaceful. There will be pleased to auctions and work of the artisans who shape the inlay.
duration: 2hr Walk, less than 1h 30 if we abandon the detour through Bab al Jadid.
Out: el Hedim place.
el Hedim Place is the hub of any city walk that is to visit the Medina to discover the city as the dashing and megalomaniac Moulay Ismail. The guide will be very aware and eager, No need to get, not Meknes Fez and the visit is easy.
Hedim El means "demolition". A little extravagant name has stuck as a result of massive reconstruction work at the time of Moulay Ismail: here there was space to store tons of stone and transit other debris. This vast esplanade
(200m long, 100m wide), as bare as hot during the day. comes alive especially at night. She became the great meeting place of the city, and how to animate the Jemma el Fna in Marrakech. Recently refurbished, it is now surrounded by modern construction. The left has a large indoor market with fruits and vegetables: there are particularly famous olive Meknes. Bab el Mansour
Aleuj is the largest and most remarkable doors meknès some say the most beautiful in Morocco. Pierre Lotti described it as a whole "combination of geometric unimaginable divert eyes like a puzzle."
Begun during the reign of Moulay Ismail, and completed by his son Sultan Moulay Abdallah in 1733, it derives its name from the Mansour Mansour el Aleuj.ou the renegade Christian, who was the architect. Ornamentation or dominates a network of interlacing standing out in relief on the merits of ceramics and mosaics, predominantly green is remarkable.
Bab Nouar Jamaa in the right of the door before, to more modest but very harmonious is the same time. She drove to the mosque Nouar, transformed into a school.
Dar Jamai rose on the square opposite the Bab Mansour. As the palace of the same name located in Fez, it was never built by the vizier, minister of Moulay el Hassan (1873-1894)
With its Andalusian style garden planted with cypress trees and bushes, its very purpose space varied and arranged in an order full of fantasy is a very fine specimen of the upper middle class homes Moroccan late XIX.
After receiving various assignments, including the military hospital during World War I, it houses a museum since 1926 of Moroccan Arts, which reflects the prosperity of the craft in Meknes and its surroundings.
INDOOR1: beautiful collection of carpets from Meknes and Middle Atlas.
salle2: Ceramics of Fez, recognizable by its blue tones.
Hall3: ceramics Meknes.
salle4: woodworking. Trunk and door made of cedar wood.
salle5: collection of caftans.
salle6: A collection of jewelry from different regions, cities and countryside.
salle7: reconstruction of the interior of a nomad's tent.
To win the souks, leaving the museum to the street Sekkakine whose stalls are occupied primarily by hardware stores. It joins the street right in the souk Nejjarin, which also houses the manufacturers copper utensils.
left the mosque in Bab Berrima was elevated to the reign of the eighteenth sal tan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah.
Avenue Mellah stands left. The Jewish quarter, quoted by three closed doors, was built in the XVII. on land Moulay Ismail offered by a Jewish doctor, then the healing of a beloved princess. it is crisscrossed by narrow streets lined with houses with floors now occupied by Muslim families, their former occupants Jews emigrated.
Beyond Sekkakine Street, the souk is extended towards the north by the souk Bezzarin, a popular bazaar with stalls selling baskets, fabrics and utensils for daily use, the street runs along the outside wall and ends at Bab el Jadid.
Bab al Jadid, one of the oldest gates of Meknes, could go back to the Almohad period. The square is surrounded by old foudouqs and shops.
can regain entrance to the souk in Nejjarin following friends of the side walls within this time, the street of Serraira, which is reached by right should turn immediately after crossing the Bab al Jadid. yet the crowd animation and guarantees. The mosque
Nejjarin right near the beginning of the souk in Nejjarin is restored by a foundation Almohad Mohammed bin Abdula (1756) to whom we owe, including the minaret current. She has a lovely wooden door and stucco topped with green tiles. The
Kisara el Dlala is near the mosque in the midst of a souk tissues. Every day, around 15 pm except Friday, it houses a sale by auction of Berber rugs and blankets.
street of the souk are Sebbat is that merchants shoes, textiles, clothing, souvenirs and many other non-food shops.
left the madrassah Bou Inania stands out for a ribbed dome spanning the street and the huge leaves of its door covered with bronze plaques engraved and adjourned. Work of the Sultans mérinides Abu el Hassan (1331-1350) and Abu Inan (1350-1358).
Along the eastern wall of the mosque, we earn a small madrasah Filali, which was founded by Moulay Ismail in 1689. The
kisaria, or we enters after passing the great mosque, comes alive in the early afternoon, around 14 pm, many women wait patiently by, waiting begins auctioning of their products. On the square, you can also admire old doors painted with stylized floral motifs and assess mastery of the craftsmen working damascene.
Karmouni the street on the left you can go to the palace el Mansour, rich mansion of the late nineteenth transformed into a bazaar.
Beyond Bab er Rih, "the door of the wind", long arched corridor enclosed by a succession of arches resting on tierspoint heavy columns, one arrives on a street pretending to stretch forever between two high walls. At right is the Dar el Makhzen, whose oldest building dates back to the late seventeenth
A little further on a street right in the same Kubba Moulay Ahmed el Ouazzani. A half-paralyzed, Moulay Ahmed el Ouazzani became famous for having managed to escape without force from, a mausoleum where he had been imprisoned by mistake. Never leaving his wall in the open, exposed to insaint. the qubba was raised during his lifetime in 1917.
In this vicinity was also the district assigned to the XVII and XVII Christian slaves.
After winning the Street Dar Semen, we reach the place el Hedim. From there, we can move on, if one is pressed, with the visit of the imperial city.
The former imperial city.
The imperial city is, disproportionate unfinished, Moulay Ismail, who built in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth. The size effect is especially noticeable today since the walls, which can go along for 2 km.
Length: long walk over 13 km requiring a car. Allow 2 hours to 2.30am to see everything quickly.
Out: el Hedim place.
-De el Hedim place, win the place lalla Aouda by an open passage in the wall a few dozen meters from Bab Mansour.
-Place Lalla Aouda is a large esplanade lying between the wall that now surround various constructions, and the district of Dar Kebira. This one is named after the former palace built by Moulay Ismail in 1697, and which there are only few remnants.
is achieved then a second, irregularly shaped, which is held several times a week, a wool market. Park your car. The
-Kubbet Khiyatin and is at the bottom of the square, right that is in this former imperial flag as sultans received foreign ambassadors. Later tailors there confectionnèrent military clothing.
Near Kubbet el khiyatin, a staircase can visit ancient vaulted SILOS, imposing dimensions. It is said, wrongly, that they served in prison with Christian captives. it is a gigantic maze, whose attacks have become clogged, which would extend beneath much of the imperial city. On leaving, we can see the openings that allow light to penetrate this underground space.
the other side of the square, right Bab Moulay Ismail, an open door in the wall of the palace can see the golf arranged in the former garden of the sultanas.
-On reaching the tomb of Moulay Ismail in through the door of the same name. Through several empty course, decorated with mosaic tiles emmaillée, one arrives in a patio where one takes off his shoes. It then enters a small room decorated with carved plaster or many pilgrims show their devotion. Hence, we see tomb itself. The set was much restored during the reign of Mohammed V. The clocks have been donated by Louis XIV in Moulay Ismail in his refusal to grant him the hand of the Princess of Conti.
From there, take his car or taxi to go to the heirs Souani Es.
After a turning on the right, the street crosses a Mechouar Place weapon on a door which gives the Dar el Makzen, arranged at the end of XIX by Moulay el Hassan. It leads to the entrance of the Dar el-Ma
Dar Ma, the grand and harmonious parts, was built during the reign of Moulay Ismail. It consists of huge vaulted elevator, installed in the basement. Lighting is provided by a few openings in the vault
Since the Dar el MA, one enters the Heri es Souani.
-Agdal Basin extends to the right of inheritance. an area of 4 ha. this reservoir was dug on the order of Moulay Ismail in order to irrigate the gardens and provide water to the bathroom installed in his harem.
From Dar el Ma, take the car to cross the arched door on the left when facing the building entrance. Street immediately turns right to reach a crossroads 500m away. Turn left. At a little less than a km, you will see on the left Dar el Beida.Ce huge building, resembling in some ways a fortress was erected by Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdellah at the end of XVIII. to serve as his residence. it is now occupied by a military academy and stables.
At the Dar el Beida, right between a street near Sidi Ayad. Roua mosque was erected in 1790 by Sidi Mohammed ben Abdellah. Continue after the mosque on a street that narrows and turn left past the door Wattana. Continue this street until inheritance el Mansour overlooking a large square. The stud-
extend over 80 ha. It raised 450 horsepower. The former stables of the standards are about 200 m after the entrance on the left front of each box shows the name of the animal and its history.
Leaving the stables, take the car and continue straight so through the gate of the ramparts. Just after, turn left. Right
walls continue and seem lost in the campaign. 500m further on we reached a crossroads, turn left to walk along the walls of the city as we follow up Bab Bou Ameira. Then turn right and then left at the crossroads Bou Ameira in the direction of Tangier.
-Bab el Berdain of monumental proportions, was built in the late XVII. It derives its name from the market to fight who stood beside.
Continue on the road to Rabat, skirting a vast cemetery, the oldest of Meknes.
This one houses the mausoleum Sidi Ben Aissa, the late eighteenth, or runs an annual pilgrimage and strange rituals. When Mouloud, snake charmers and healers still engaged in dance during which they imitate the behavior of all kinds of animals.
The road then passes near Bab es Siba, door Insubordination then merges with the flap. turn left.
Bab el-Khemis is one of the most beautiful enclosure doors of Moulay Ismail. he had engraved on the pediment: "I am the door open to all peoples, whether Western or Oriental" In its rich decoration, we note especially the corner pieces on each side black boxes with tiles, green Bab el Khémis previously opened on the Jewish quarter.
After crossing the new Jewish quarter, there is a large artery on the left leads to the Place el Hedim.
surroundings Meknes.
1-Excursion to Volubilis and Moulay Idriss (37 Km north paved road). It is a journey through time, the discovery of two key milestones in the history of the country, Volubilis, the ancient capital of Morocco, and Moulay Idriss, place of birth, with the Idrissid dynasty, the first modern Moroccan state.
Meknes Exit towards Sidi Kacem para road P6.
11 km, turn right towards Moulay Idriss.
22 km: the left one sees the ruins of Volubilis, while the right houses are staged Moulay Idriss in the side of a rock.
23 Km: leave the right road falling in Moulay Idriss.
26 Km: P28 leave to embark on the left.
27 Km: Volubilis. After visiting the Roman city, you reach a little further on the P28. Turn left, then almost immediately right onto the S306, which stands in a wooded area. At the turn of a village, we discover again a superb panorama on all Moulay Idriss, eclantante whiteness against a backdrop of austere mountains.
37 Km: Moulay Idriss. Then there is the P28 at Km 23. Since
Moulay Idriss, people with an all-terrain vehicles can venture into the massive Zerhoun taking the road towards El Mghassin CT3314.
2 - Sidi Kacem (46 Km north west by the P6).
15 km from Meknes, Ain el Kerma. It was near this town that is the site of Roman camps Tocolosida that protected access southwest of Volubilis, the incursions of Berbers evaders. The excavations have uncovered an enclosure of 1750 m long, reinforced by towers, erected under the Severi on the site of an older city, more buildings, including baths. After the abandonment of the city, the area is reoccupied was probably during the construction of the camp, but briefly. An aqueduct that crossed over massive piers that slum, brought water to the camps Zerhoun. Sidi Kacem
, a major agricultural center, was created in 1916 under the name of Petitjean. The original village is 2 km south on a knoll on the edge of a green oasis of olive trees, fig trees and poplars. Zawiya Sidi Kacem, overlooking the valley of Wadi Rdom, is distinguished by its pyramidal roof of green tiles; moussem in October.
From Meknes.
1-De Meknès Khénifra by Khemisset and Oulmès.
Meknes Exit and follow signs for Route flap P1
57 km; Khemisset is the capital of a province of 480,000 inhabitants. You can visit a handicraft cooperative located in the main street. Souk el Tuesday.
Long rebelling against the authority of the sultans Alawite they frequently came to loot the gates of Rabat, the Berbers who inhabit the country Zemmour engaged today in the most peaceful spots. They make particularly ds mat palmetto fiber or wool, carpets and famous. Follow-S106
to Maaziz, along the first Deyette Rumi before a bifurcation, or we continue on the left.
90 Km; Maaziz on tanoubert wadi, near its confluence with Bouregreg; Sunday market. Continue through the S209.
106 km: Tidd, administrative center of the Zemmour tribe near marabout Sidi Abd el Hadj. Trading on Monday, and in September moussem involving Berber horsemen.
It rises gradually through vegetation of oaks and cedars on the slopes of Jebel Mouchechen (1086m) The route discovered a pretty nice view, especially on the country Zaiane.
128 Km El Harcha on the edge of a forest of oak trees deemed good hunting.
145 Km road branches off to the right S209.
It can reach Tarmilate (8km), better known under its former non Oulmes baths, small spa, on a plateau at 1100 m altitude. A small winding road leads to the very source of hot water (43 °) Lalla Haya (2km), whose waters have substantially the same therapeutic properties as that of Vichy. It is especially recommended for the treatment of gastrointestinal and liver diseases, allergic cons. The sparkling water you can find all the tables from Morocco came from here.
149 Km: Oulmès, a small administrative center in the heart of an area of agricultural development (Tree fruit).
151 Km: Aguelmouss. Saturday market.
A 40 Km north west, in the heart of the country Zaiane, Moulay Bouazza is a large village on a hillside, near the tomb of the holy character of the same name, the mosque and tomb, rebuilt in 1691 by Moulay Ismail, attract each year several tens of thousands of pilgrims.
231 Km: Khenifra.
2 - Meknes Midelt (192 Km south-east by P21)
road is fast and well designed, despite the somewhat uneven across the Middle Atlas, where we discover the first landscapes: vast rocky plateaus, high slopes peaks and wooded valleys and deep mountain lakes.
Quit Meknes by road Azrou.
32 km El Hajeb to 1045 m altitude on the edge of the plateau Mtir Beni, on Monday souk.
50 km: Pass to 1451 m altitude.
Immediately after the pass, the road long edge of a plateau: the balcony or gazebo Tigrigra Ito. Fine views. Sellers of fossils and minerals at great prizes.
67 km: Azrou.
83 km: road left for Mischliffen.
109 Km: the road enters the short parade of Foum el Kheneg then continues on a volcanic plateau dotted with extinct craters, high 100 to 150 m, and small mountain lakes, the aguelmanes, real washing bowls are filled in winter and are often dry in summer.
115 km: road right to Bakri. located 12 km, Bakri is a poor hamlet beside a beautiful cedar forest that extends to beyond Khenifra, alternate with deep valleys with pastures and crops. It weaves curious rug with geometric color and black and white or full color. From April to September it is possible to visit the semi-nomadic khaima
119 km: road left for aguemane Sidi Ali.
129 Km: Col du Zad, the line of the watershed between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
142 Km: Ait Oufella village red clay at the foot of the mountain. View to the horizon on a clear day, the peaks of Jebel Ayachi.
152 Km: Zeid. Road right to Khnifra.
177 Km: track right into the house and the forest Mitkane circus of Jaffar.
192 Km: Midelt
The fifth city of Morocco is more joyful than Fez, its neighbor and rival. Is it also more "imperial"? With its immense prospects, its 25 km wall, its cyclopean stores, its vast fields of parade, with its buildings of gigantic proportions, yet harmonious, Meknes, the capital of Moulay Ismail, Morocco's largest builder, offers an impressive array . The tourist brochures were to give the name of the qualifier Meknes "Moroccan Versailles." But that's beside the ancient Assyrian capitals that fans should direct comparisons of their imagination, to the palace of Nimrud or Khorsabad.
Explore Meknes.
walks.
1-Medina. Less turbulent than that of Fez, it is nonetheless very pleasant to many kisarias and artisans who work the inlay.
2-The former imperial city. The broad perspectives and dimensions of impressive buildings have no counterpart in Morocco.
Living Meknes.
Discover the most beautiful views. The hill rises the hotel or go Transatlantic is you photographers who capture the stunning views of the northern ramparts. Why not return that evening for a drink at the terrace of this famous hotel history to admire the sunset?
Another nice view of the ramparts, this time in the South, leaving the royal stables. Browse
Meknes-drawn carriage. In recent years, the Municipality encourages this mode of transport for tourists. The carriages are brand new and stationed around the square el Hedim.
Changing of Arab thoroughbreds. In the stud of the city, grooms do not usually do pray for a few thoroughbreds out of their box and to change for you.
Enjoy the best kebabs in town. It's a tiny restaurant in the medina found, the general view, the best kebabs in the city: chopped meat kebabs, kefta, seasoned with a blend of herbs and spices which the employer keeps the secret. This small restaurant, nameless and without a sign is located at the entrance of the souk Nejjarin, coming from Bab Berrima.
Taste the best olives from Morocco. The reputation of the merchants olive won across the country. Market Square El Hedi, you will find dozens of different preparations. The use-and politeness - we want to taste several before making his choice. One way to pay tribute to the craftsman who developed them.
stroll in the new town. The bars are flowering and the atmosphere is happier than Fez. You can finish in one of the nightclubs in the city to the sound of an orchestra: friendly atmosphere, and few tourists.
Meknes instructions.
We will visit the Medina on foot from the Place el Hedim next to which one can park, We will then short-hop by car to visit the imperial city because the distances are long enough. Prepare currency for which you seek the guards at each stop. In summer the heat can be overwhelming. Warning: the excursion in the Massif Zerhoun, ATVs highly recommended.
Program.
Someday. After admiring the Bab el Mansour Aleuj, we will devote the morning of Moroccan art of Dar Jamai, then to the souks and the Madrasa Bou Inania. the afternoon, the piece de resistance: the monuments of ancient imperial city. If there is time, we will finish the day by visiting the Roman ruins of Volubilis Roman, or you can sleep.
two days. Even early in the program, but evening and night in Meknes. In order to avoid the heat, it will be appreciated very early the next morning at the site of Volubilis, Moulay Idriss before winning. the holy city.
Meknes in history.
"Meknes the olive "Meknassa Zeitoum ez, is the name under which a group from the great Berber tribe Meknassa founded the city while a second group was founded Meknassa Taza, Taza ie. It was, in Originally a series of villages built along the river whose chronicles of the time extolling the riches vegetables, olives, figs, etc.. There are still "matmoras" grain silos buried in the floor walls coated with hydraulic lime. They go back to the time of the "Black Sultan", head of the Almoravids. The latter, led by Ibn Tasufin, took possession of Meknes in 1069. They built the first bastion of monitoring the location of the current Mosque El berdain and a kasbah on the board (today district of everything). First
prosperity, the first decline. After an initial failure of Ibn Toumert who, around 1120, tried to raise the public against the Almoravids, his successor Abd el Mou'men, real founder of the Almohad dynasty, established his camp before the city takes Kasbat in 1145.Abd el Mou'men destroys it. he built on the site of his camp a new city remarkable for its grid pattern typical of Almohads. Treated rigorously, the city was deserted. Over time, measures were taken softer, bringing him a measure of prosperity. But this prosperous era did not last long. Meknes was hit hard by the chaos that marked the demise of the Almohad in the advent of Meridians, they established their Makhzen abandoned kasbah in and built, among other things, the madrasah Bou Inania. After a short period of peace under the Merida, marked by few major urban works, the city will undergo further weakening the dynasty. The wise government of Abu Zakaria Ouattaside then, after 1547, the success of Saadiens will know him some respite.
the capital of Moulay Ismail. Fearing the rebellious spirit of the people of Fes and Marrakech, the second Moroccan king (1672-1727) would make the fortune of Meknes by transferring the seat of its capital.
With untiring zeal, he began to develop grandiose monuments. He assigns this task to an army of laborers, masons and laborers recruited from slaves or convicted criminals. he obliged to work the surrounding tribes. Christian captives held in Meknes also took part. their numbers never exceeded a few hundred, but after taking Larache (1689) where he rose for a time, until 3000.
A sovereign everywhere. Moulay Ismail was sparing no effort. he watched him same work, sometimes punishing with death the least anxious, setting an example by hand the pie.
a few years, he razed the old kasbah Merinid and destroyed an entire neighborhood south of the old city. there erected miles of bastions and ramparts, monumental gates, barns and stables huge deep pools and spacious gardens, mosques, kasbas for his guard, arsenals, training grounds and palace his harem. Many monuments and Volubilis Marrakech (including El Badi Palace) had to suffer this zeal manufacturer.
The ardor of Moulay Ismail is also manifested in the diplomatic field. After signing with Louis XIV, treaty (1682), which was hardly a scrap of paper, he made numerous unsuccessful approaches to marry Marie-Anne de Bourbon, legitimate daughter of the King of France and Louise de la Valliere and future Princess of Conti.
The end of a great dream. Despite the continuing work by his son Moulay Abdullah and construction companies by Sidi Mohammed ben Abdellah, Meknes, which became the fourth imperial city and the center of the empire of Moulay Ismail, declined rapidly after the death of the illustrious sovereign. Huge projects were abandoned, and the sultans moved their residence sometimes in Fez, sometimes in Marrakech.
Meknes today
Two distinct cities separated by the valley of Wadi Boufekrane, make up the city. the old city includes the imperial city and the Medina, the latter, without possessing the charm that of Fez, is nevertheless very pleasant.
new town, built from 1920 on a neighboring shelf, it is also fun, but if it does not have a landmark building.
Finally, if Meknes is a city happy, it may be that it is in the main wine-producing region of the country ...
Medina
carved wooden doors and awnings along this worked Medina, less sumptuous than that of Fez, but also peaceful. There will be pleased to auctions and work of the artisans who shape the inlay.
duration: 2hr Walk, less than 1h 30 if we abandon the detour through Bab al Jadid.
Out: el Hedim place.
el Hedim Place is the hub of any city walk that is to visit the Medina to discover the city as the dashing and megalomaniac Moulay Ismail. The guide will be very aware and eager, No need to get, not Meknes Fez and the visit is easy.
Hedim El means "demolition". A little extravagant name has stuck as a result of massive reconstruction work at the time of Moulay Ismail: here there was space to store tons of stone and transit other debris. This vast esplanade
(200m long, 100m wide), as bare as hot during the day. comes alive especially at night. She became the great meeting place of the city, and how to animate the Jemma el Fna in Marrakech. Recently refurbished, it is now surrounded by modern construction. The left has a large indoor market with fruits and vegetables: there are particularly famous olive Meknes. Bab el Mansour
Aleuj is the largest and most remarkable doors meknès some say the most beautiful in Morocco. Pierre Lotti described it as a whole "combination of geometric unimaginable divert eyes like a puzzle."
Begun during the reign of Moulay Ismail, and completed by his son Sultan Moulay Abdallah in 1733, it derives its name from the Mansour Mansour el Aleuj.ou the renegade Christian, who was the architect. Ornamentation or dominates a network of interlacing standing out in relief on the merits of ceramics and mosaics, predominantly green is remarkable.
Bab Nouar Jamaa in the right of the door before, to more modest but very harmonious is the same time. She drove to the mosque Nouar, transformed into a school.
Dar Jamai rose on the square opposite the Bab Mansour. As the palace of the same name located in Fez, it was never built by the vizier, minister of Moulay el Hassan (1873-1894)
With its Andalusian style garden planted with cypress trees and bushes, its very purpose space varied and arranged in an order full of fantasy is a very fine specimen of the upper middle class homes Moroccan late XIX.
After receiving various assignments, including the military hospital during World War I, it houses a museum since 1926 of Moroccan Arts, which reflects the prosperity of the craft in Meknes and its surroundings.
INDOOR1: beautiful collection of carpets from Meknes and Middle Atlas.
salle2: Ceramics of Fez, recognizable by its blue tones.
Hall3: ceramics Meknes.
salle4: woodworking. Trunk and door made of cedar wood.
salle5: collection of caftans.
salle6: A collection of jewelry from different regions, cities and countryside.
salle7: reconstruction of the interior of a nomad's tent.
To win the souks, leaving the museum to the street Sekkakine whose stalls are occupied primarily by hardware stores. It joins the street right in the souk Nejjarin, which also houses the manufacturers copper utensils.
left the mosque in Bab Berrima was elevated to the reign of the eighteenth sal tan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah.
Avenue Mellah stands left. The Jewish quarter, quoted by three closed doors, was built in the XVII. on land Moulay Ismail offered by a Jewish doctor, then the healing of a beloved princess. it is crisscrossed by narrow streets lined with houses with floors now occupied by Muslim families, their former occupants Jews emigrated.
Beyond Sekkakine Street, the souk is extended towards the north by the souk Bezzarin, a popular bazaar with stalls selling baskets, fabrics and utensils for daily use, the street runs along the outside wall and ends at Bab el Jadid.
Bab al Jadid, one of the oldest gates of Meknes, could go back to the Almohad period. The square is surrounded by old foudouqs and shops.
can regain entrance to the souk in Nejjarin following friends of the side walls within this time, the street of Serraira, which is reached by right should turn immediately after crossing the Bab al Jadid. yet the crowd animation and guarantees. The mosque
Nejjarin right near the beginning of the souk in Nejjarin is restored by a foundation Almohad Mohammed bin Abdula (1756) to whom we owe, including the minaret current. She has a lovely wooden door and stucco topped with green tiles. The
Kisara el Dlala is near the mosque in the midst of a souk tissues. Every day, around 15 pm except Friday, it houses a sale by auction of Berber rugs and blankets.
street of the souk are Sebbat is that merchants shoes, textiles, clothing, souvenirs and many other non-food shops.
left the madrassah Bou Inania stands out for a ribbed dome spanning the street and the huge leaves of its door covered with bronze plaques engraved and adjourned. Work of the Sultans mérinides Abu el Hassan (1331-1350) and Abu Inan (1350-1358).
Along the eastern wall of the mosque, we earn a small madrasah Filali, which was founded by Moulay Ismail in 1689. The
kisaria, or we enters after passing the great mosque, comes alive in the early afternoon, around 14 pm, many women wait patiently by, waiting begins auctioning of their products. On the square, you can also admire old doors painted with stylized floral motifs and assess mastery of the craftsmen working damascene.
Karmouni the street on the left you can go to the palace el Mansour, rich mansion of the late nineteenth transformed into a bazaar.
Beyond Bab er Rih, "the door of the wind", long arched corridor enclosed by a succession of arches resting on tierspoint heavy columns, one arrives on a street pretending to stretch forever between two high walls. At right is the Dar el Makhzen, whose oldest building dates back to the late seventeenth
A little further on a street right in the same Kubba Moulay Ahmed el Ouazzani. A half-paralyzed, Moulay Ahmed el Ouazzani became famous for having managed to escape without force from, a mausoleum where he had been imprisoned by mistake. Never leaving his wall in the open, exposed to insaint. the qubba was raised during his lifetime in 1917.
In this vicinity was also the district assigned to the XVII and XVII Christian slaves.
After winning the Street Dar Semen, we reach the place el Hedim. From there, we can move on, if one is pressed, with the visit of the imperial city.
The former imperial city.
The imperial city is, disproportionate unfinished, Moulay Ismail, who built in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth. The size effect is especially noticeable today since the walls, which can go along for 2 km.
Length: long walk over 13 km requiring a car. Allow 2 hours to 2.30am to see everything quickly.
Out: el Hedim place.
-De el Hedim place, win the place lalla Aouda by an open passage in the wall a few dozen meters from Bab Mansour.
-Place Lalla Aouda is a large esplanade lying between the wall that now surround various constructions, and the district of Dar Kebira. This one is named after the former palace built by Moulay Ismail in 1697, and which there are only few remnants.
is achieved then a second, irregularly shaped, which is held several times a week, a wool market. Park your car. The
-Kubbet Khiyatin and is at the bottom of the square, right that is in this former imperial flag as sultans received foreign ambassadors. Later tailors there confectionnèrent military clothing.
Near Kubbet el khiyatin, a staircase can visit ancient vaulted SILOS, imposing dimensions. It is said, wrongly, that they served in prison with Christian captives. it is a gigantic maze, whose attacks have become clogged, which would extend beneath much of the imperial city. On leaving, we can see the openings that allow light to penetrate this underground space.
the other side of the square, right Bab Moulay Ismail, an open door in the wall of the palace can see the golf arranged in the former garden of the sultanas.
-On reaching the tomb of Moulay Ismail in through the door of the same name. Through several empty course, decorated with mosaic tiles emmaillée, one arrives in a patio where one takes off his shoes. It then enters a small room decorated with carved plaster or many pilgrims show their devotion. Hence, we see tomb itself. The set was much restored during the reign of Mohammed V. The clocks have been donated by Louis XIV in Moulay Ismail in his refusal to grant him the hand of the Princess of Conti.
From there, take his car or taxi to go to the heirs Souani Es.
After a turning on the right, the street crosses a Mechouar Place weapon on a door which gives the Dar el Makzen, arranged at the end of XIX by Moulay el Hassan. It leads to the entrance of the Dar el-Ma
Dar Ma, the grand and harmonious parts, was built during the reign of Moulay Ismail. It consists of huge vaulted elevator, installed in the basement. Lighting is provided by a few openings in the vault
Since the Dar el MA, one enters the Heri es Souani.
-Agdal Basin extends to the right of inheritance. an area of 4 ha. this reservoir was dug on the order of Moulay Ismail in order to irrigate the gardens and provide water to the bathroom installed in his harem.
From Dar el Ma, take the car to cross the arched door on the left when facing the building entrance. Street immediately turns right to reach a crossroads 500m away. Turn left. At a little less than a km, you will see on the left Dar el Beida.Ce huge building, resembling in some ways a fortress was erected by Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdellah at the end of XVIII. to serve as his residence. it is now occupied by a military academy and stables.
At the Dar el Beida, right between a street near Sidi Ayad. Roua mosque was erected in 1790 by Sidi Mohammed ben Abdellah. Continue after the mosque on a street that narrows and turn left past the door Wattana. Continue this street until inheritance el Mansour overlooking a large square. The stud-
extend over 80 ha. It raised 450 horsepower. The former stables of the standards are about 200 m after the entrance on the left front of each box shows the name of the animal and its history.
Leaving the stables, take the car and continue straight so through the gate of the ramparts. Just after, turn left. Right
walls continue and seem lost in the campaign. 500m further on we reached a crossroads, turn left to walk along the walls of the city as we follow up Bab Bou Ameira. Then turn right and then left at the crossroads Bou Ameira in the direction of Tangier.
-Bab el Berdain of monumental proportions, was built in the late XVII. It derives its name from the market to fight who stood beside.
Continue on the road to Rabat, skirting a vast cemetery, the oldest of Meknes.
This one houses the mausoleum Sidi Ben Aissa, the late eighteenth, or runs an annual pilgrimage and strange rituals. When Mouloud, snake charmers and healers still engaged in dance during which they imitate the behavior of all kinds of animals.
The road then passes near Bab es Siba, door Insubordination then merges with the flap. turn left.
Bab el-Khemis is one of the most beautiful enclosure doors of Moulay Ismail. he had engraved on the pediment: "I am the door open to all peoples, whether Western or Oriental" In its rich decoration, we note especially the corner pieces on each side black boxes with tiles, green Bab el Khémis previously opened on the Jewish quarter.
After crossing the new Jewish quarter, there is a large artery on the left leads to the Place el Hedim.
surroundings Meknes.
1-Excursion to Volubilis and Moulay Idriss (37 Km north paved road). It is a journey through time, the discovery of two key milestones in the history of the country, Volubilis, the ancient capital of Morocco, and Moulay Idriss, place of birth, with the Idrissid dynasty, the first modern Moroccan state.
Meknes Exit towards Sidi Kacem para road P6.
11 km, turn right towards Moulay Idriss.
22 km: the left one sees the ruins of Volubilis, while the right houses are staged Moulay Idriss in the side of a rock.
23 Km: leave the right road falling in Moulay Idriss.
26 Km: P28 leave to embark on the left.
27 Km: Volubilis. After visiting the Roman city, you reach a little further on the P28. Turn left, then almost immediately right onto the S306, which stands in a wooded area. At the turn of a village, we discover again a superb panorama on all Moulay Idriss, eclantante whiteness against a backdrop of austere mountains.
37 Km: Moulay Idriss. Then there is the P28 at Km 23. Since
Moulay Idriss, people with an all-terrain vehicles can venture into the massive Zerhoun taking the road towards El Mghassin CT3314.
2 - Sidi Kacem (46 Km north west by the P6).
15 km from Meknes, Ain el Kerma. It was near this town that is the site of Roman camps Tocolosida that protected access southwest of Volubilis, the incursions of Berbers evaders. The excavations have uncovered an enclosure of 1750 m long, reinforced by towers, erected under the Severi on the site of an older city, more buildings, including baths. After the abandonment of the city, the area is reoccupied was probably during the construction of the camp, but briefly. An aqueduct that crossed over massive piers that slum, brought water to the camps Zerhoun. Sidi Kacem
, a major agricultural center, was created in 1916 under the name of Petitjean. The original village is 2 km south on a knoll on the edge of a green oasis of olive trees, fig trees and poplars. Zawiya Sidi Kacem, overlooking the valley of Wadi Rdom, is distinguished by its pyramidal roof of green tiles; moussem in October.
From Meknes.
1-De Meknès Khénifra by Khemisset and Oulmès.
Meknes Exit and follow signs for Route flap P1
57 km; Khemisset is the capital of a province of 480,000 inhabitants. You can visit a handicraft cooperative located in the main street. Souk el Tuesday.
Long rebelling against the authority of the sultans Alawite they frequently came to loot the gates of Rabat, the Berbers who inhabit the country Zemmour engaged today in the most peaceful spots. They make particularly ds mat palmetto fiber or wool, carpets and famous. Follow-S106
to Maaziz, along the first Deyette Rumi before a bifurcation, or we continue on the left.
90 Km; Maaziz on tanoubert wadi, near its confluence with Bouregreg; Sunday market. Continue through the S209.
106 km: Tidd, administrative center of the Zemmour tribe near marabout Sidi Abd el Hadj. Trading on Monday, and in September moussem involving Berber horsemen.
It rises gradually through vegetation of oaks and cedars on the slopes of Jebel Mouchechen (1086m) The route discovered a pretty nice view, especially on the country Zaiane.
128 Km El Harcha on the edge of a forest of oak trees deemed good hunting.
145 Km road branches off to the right S209.
It can reach Tarmilate (8km), better known under its former non Oulmes baths, small spa, on a plateau at 1100 m altitude. A small winding road leads to the very source of hot water (43 °) Lalla Haya (2km), whose waters have substantially the same therapeutic properties as that of Vichy. It is especially recommended for the treatment of gastrointestinal and liver diseases, allergic cons. The sparkling water you can find all the tables from Morocco came from here.
149 Km: Oulmès, a small administrative center in the heart of an area of agricultural development (Tree fruit).
151 Km: Aguelmouss. Saturday market.
A 40 Km north west, in the heart of the country Zaiane, Moulay Bouazza is a large village on a hillside, near the tomb of the holy character of the same name, the mosque and tomb, rebuilt in 1691 by Moulay Ismail, attract each year several tens of thousands of pilgrims.
231 Km: Khenifra.
2 - Meknes Midelt (192 Km south-east by P21)
road is fast and well designed, despite the somewhat uneven across the Middle Atlas, where we discover the first landscapes: vast rocky plateaus, high slopes peaks and wooded valleys and deep mountain lakes.
Quit Meknes by road Azrou.
32 km El Hajeb to 1045 m altitude on the edge of the plateau Mtir Beni, on Monday souk.
50 km: Pass to 1451 m altitude.
Immediately after the pass, the road long edge of a plateau: the balcony or gazebo Tigrigra Ito. Fine views. Sellers of fossils and minerals at great prizes.
67 km: Azrou.
83 km: road left for Mischliffen.
109 Km: the road enters the short parade of Foum el Kheneg then continues on a volcanic plateau dotted with extinct craters, high 100 to 150 m, and small mountain lakes, the aguelmanes, real washing bowls are filled in winter and are often dry in summer.
115 km: road right to Bakri. located 12 km, Bakri is a poor hamlet beside a beautiful cedar forest that extends to beyond Khenifra, alternate with deep valleys with pastures and crops. It weaves curious rug with geometric color and black and white or full color. From April to September it is possible to visit the semi-nomadic khaima
119 km: road left for aguemane Sidi Ali.
129 Km: Col du Zad, the line of the watershed between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
142 Km: Ait Oufella village red clay at the foot of the mountain. View to the horizon on a clear day, the peaks of Jebel Ayachi.
152 Km: Zeid. Road right to Khnifra.
177 Km: track right into the house and the forest Mitkane circus of Jaffar.
192 Km: Midelt
