Day 3 - Meknes

Brief Info
Meknes is located in northern Morocco and the capital of Meknes Province. The city is on a fertile plain north of the Middle Atlas, near the city of Fez. Being a former residence of the Sultan, Meknes is on a railroad that links it with the coast and lead to nearby mountain resorts. Industries of the city include palm oil processing, metalworking, distilling and manufacture of carpets, woolens, and cement. The surrounding plain around the region produces fruits, grains and vegetables. Meknes, also called the Moroccan Versailles, contains the Sultan's palace and grounds a large marketplace. The palace is surrounded by a triple tier of walls.

Meknes is named after a Berber tribe which was known as Miknasa according to the medieval North African sources.

Meknes
On our third day, we are visiting Meknes, which is 100 km east of Rabat. Meknes has been called the Versailles of Morocco, but the grand scheme for a royal palace was never completed. The old city is one of the finest in Morocco, and the royal palace makes up a considerable part of it. The palace was erected during the rule of Sultan Moulay Ismail, who reigned for 55 years (1672-1727). Tens of thousands, mainly Christian slaves kidnapped from European villages as far north as Iceland by Moroccan pirates, worked and died to complete the complex of 50 palaces, 20 gates, and a city wall of 45 km. But despite Ismail’s great effort, he never succeeded in making Meknes the great
imperial city he planned it to be. Several royal palaces were built by Moulay Ismail, but the one which has survived best until modern times is Dar el-Makhzen. A mystical attraction, Heri es-Souani was Moulay Ismail’s granaries, which were quite gigantic in their scale. With their massive walls and tiny windows, the granaries stored grain and hay to feed the 12,000 royal horses at the time. Thanks to its dazzling atmosphere, Heri es-Souani has also been used as a film location for “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988) by Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese.