Welcome back to part 2 of my travel experiences in Meknes, Morocco. The old city of Meknes is a UNESCO World Heritage site for its exceptional architecture, urban planning, and its historical significance as one of Morocco’s four imperial cities. This city was once the capital of a great 17th century dynasty, and the powerful Sultan Moulay Ismaïl. Much of the historic infrastructure and buildings here are larger than life, which I saw first hand at the massive Royal Granaries, which held over 20,000 tons of grain to feed the sultan’s army and 12,000 horses.
After visiting the Royal Granary and reservoir, I follow the palm-lined path adjacent to the granary’s large stone walls in the direction of Meknes’s historic main square to the northeast. You can see the granary’s large stone walls in the below photo taken from the other side of the reservoir.
After about five minutes of walking you will reach Place Lalla Aouda. This grassy square was once part of the sultan’s military training grounds. The large walls are still standing strong and tall around the area, and it is easy to imagine the great power of this kingdom during its height. When I was here, the grassy area was mostly unused, but the street I am standing on to take the photo is full of people and various food vendors. I was here around sunset, and as you can see in the photo, the orange light looked really cool hitting the stone walls.
A few minutes more up the road, I came to this cool gate, which would have traditionally led into the Imperial Kasbah. It was closed when I visited, but I do not know if it is ever opened to the public. The gate appeared to be in good condition, so I would imagine it is still opened from time to time. I enjoy the tile work around the gate, the patterns are intricate and colorful, arranged into perfect geometric patterns.
I have noticed many of the old places in Morocco have very beautiful and complex patterns in their design, and I often wonder about the minds of the people who built them. Was it a team of creatives? Was it all planned by one person? How long did it take? I imagine what it must have been like to see these great and beautiful structures when they were brand new. It is easy to let your imagination run wild in old cities such as this.
At this point in my walk, I get a bit lost trying to find another very famous gate called Bab Mansour, which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful in Morocco. Google Maps often gets confused in old cities like this with high stone walls and narrow interweaving streets.
After a bit of walking, I came to this cool, but unknown mosque. I did some research later to try and identify this building, but I was not successful. I know it is a mosque because of the green tiled roof and tower, but I don’t know exactly which one it was since I was lost when I found it. It is nice to let yourself get lost from time to time, because that is when you discover the true hidden gems of a place.
After a bit more wandering, I came to the main square of Meknes, which was quite chaotic and full of people, sellers, and entertainers of all sorts. I did not take any pictures here, and just soaked in the energy of the place.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my time exploring Meknes, Morocco. If you have an extra day in your itinerary and are staying in Fes, I recommend making a day trip to this historic and larger than life city.
All photos were taken by me. Thank you for reading.
If you enjoyed reading this post, please consider reading part 1, which details my trip to the Royal Granary and Reservoir in Meknes, which can be found here.
If you are interested in reading about my trip to the beautiful and tranquil botanical gardens of Jnan Sbil in Fes's Old City, that post can be found here.