Qara Prison

About this place

A series of underground vaulted chambers built in the early eighteenth century by order of Sultan Moulay Ismail inside his Meknes kasbah. Popular accounts describe it as a vast prison holding thousands of captives, mostly Europeans taken at sea, which is why some call it the Prison of the Christians. Most scholars, however, believe it was originally a huge underground storage space for the royal kasbah, and that the story of the great prison is exaggerated. Accounts of its name vary, one crediting a captive Portuguese architect who designed it in exchange for his freedom, another a bald guard. You go down a stairway from an open courtyard into a maze of dark stone passages and vaults stretching in every direction, lit only through small openings in the ceiling, with a mysterious atmosphere that sparks the imagination. Only a small part can be visited, as the further passages have been sealed. Admission is about sixty dirhams according to 2026 guides. It is dark and cool inside, so watch your step. It is close to the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, so pair the two in one visit.