Guided full day trip to Meknes from fes is highly recommended. Meknes is one of the four Imperial Cities of Morocco. Explore Meknes, its souks, its gates, el-Hedim Square and Mulay Ismaíl's Mausoleum. The main sights and point of interests in the city are: Souks/Markets; Very interesting walk through the souks serves to see that you are in a more modern city than Fez. El-Hedim Square; The El-Hedim square is more like the Jamaa el Fna Square in Marrakech, the center of public and cultural life of the city. Restaurants and terraces have been installed in the areas where public executions and royal announcements were once witnessed. Bab el-Mansour Gate; Communicate the previous square with the old Imperial City of Mulay Ismaíl. Its construction ended in 1732.
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Unlike Marrakech, Ouarzazate or other cities in the south of the country, Meknes is surrounded by agricultural fields, with agricultural products being one of the bases of the city's economy.
Interestingly, in this region the largest amount of Moroccan wine is produced, which is already surprising by itself, since Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcohol.
The first inhabitants of Meknes were the Mkanssa Tribs that means the warriors, a Berber tribe that gave its name to the city. They settled in the tenth century and little by little they expanded the city.
In the 17th century, Moulay Ismaíl Alalaoui established the capital of Morocco in Meknes, creating the walls and magnificent gates. Its death, in 1727, caused that the city began its decay until losing the title of capital shortly after.
What to see in Meknes
Some of the places you can not miss are:
Artisanal markets: A simple walk through the souks serves to see that we are in a more modern city than Fez.
El-Hedim Square: The square el-Hedim in Meknes is like tha Jamaa el Fna Square in Marrakech, the center of public and cultural life of the city. Restaurants and terraces have been installed in the areas where public executions and royal announcements were once witnessed.
Bab el-Mansour Gate: Built in 1732 and communicate the previous square with the old Imperial City of Mulay Ismaíl.
Mausoleum of Mulay Ismaíl: One of the key visits of Meknes. Here is the tomb of the sultan that marked the origins of today's Morocco.
Medersa Bouanania: Old coranic school from its top you get a curious view of the city. Its interior is very similar to the medersas of Fez.
Heri Souani: Under this name are the royal stables of Mulay Ismaíl, with capacity for 12,000 horses. It's a huge building and it's quite interesting.
After the visit of meknes we will head to Volubilis to visit ne of the olest countries in Morocco and a old roman capital. The Roman city came to have more than 20,000 people dedicated mostly to the cultivation of wheat, since production was ordered by Rome. Volubilis was part of the Roman Empire until the end of the third century, when it was in the hands of Berbers, Greeks, Syrians and Jews.
At the end of the 8th century, Idrís I made Volúbilis his refuge. After proclaiming to be emir manifesting to be a direct descendant of Muhammad, Idrís I turned Volúbilis into the birthplace of Islam in the area.
