Yellow courtyards
Zellij and fountains.
Bernard Gagnon — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Carlos ZGZ from Paris, France — CC0 · Hiroki Ogawa — CC BY 3.0 · This file is a work by El Pantera. Please, credit this: El Pantera I would appreciate being notified (elpanteradejerez@gmail.com) if you use my work outside Wikimedia More of my work can be found in — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Holger Uwe Schmitt — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Holger Uwe Schmitt — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Remi Jouan — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ben Bender — CC BY-SA 3.0
A funerary complex holding the tomb of Sultan Moulay Ismail, who ruled Morocco for fifty-five years from 1672 to 1727, one of the longest reigns in the country's history, making Meknes his capital and building a vast imperial kasbah here. The mausoleum stands inside the kasbah and is one of the city's most important historic and religious sites. You enter through an ornate gateway under a green-tiled roof, then pass through a series of quiet courtyards with yellow walls and zellij floors, some with fountains, before reaching halls decorated with carved stucco, coloured zellij, carved wooden ceilings and chandeliers. It is one of the few religious sites in Morocco that non-Muslims may partly enter: they visit the courtyards and front halls and look into the tomb chamber from its doorway without going in, where the sultan lies beneath a decorated dome beside old clocks said to have been a gift from King Louis XIV of France. Entry is free and donations are welcome; times may change on Fridays and at prayer times. Modest dress covering shoulders and knees is expected, and shoes come off in the carpeted halls.
Zellij and fountains.
A decorated dome.
A historic gift.
Inside the Ismaili kasbah, south of Place el-Hedim, Meknes
Qara PrisonA series of underground vaulted chambers built in the early eighteenth century b2 minutes walk
Bab MansourThe most famous and beautiful gate of Meknes and one of the finest historic gate3 minutes walk
Place el-HedimThe great square of old Meknes, separating the medina from Moulay Ismail's kasba4 minutes walk
Dar Jamaï Museum (National Museum of Music)A late nineteenth-century palace on Place el-Hedim, built in 1882 for the Jamaï 6 minutes walk
Bou Inania Madrasa, MeknesA Marinid madrasa in the heart of old Meknes near the Grand Mosque, founded by t7 minutes walkYes, to the courtyards and front halls, viewing the tomb chamber from its doorway without entering, in modest dress and quietly.