Introduction
This album covers a short trip to three of the Imperial Cities of Morocco, Meknes, Rabat and Fes, made in 2013.
Meknes
In the 17th century Meknes was the capital of Morocco. Meknes saw its golden age as the imperial capital of Moulay Ismail when he was Sultanate of Morocco (1672–1727). He installed under the old city a large prison to house Christian sailors captured on the sea, and also constructed numerous edifices, gardens, monumental gates, mosques (whence the city's nickname ofSome parts of the city were built using stones from the nearby roman ruins of Volubilis.
Fes
Fes was founded in 789AD and was the capital of Morocco until 1925. Fes is said to be the best preserved medevial city in the Arab world, and is famous for its large medina, Fes el Bali, which comprises a network of some 9,000 narrow streets and is thought to be one of worlds largest car-free urban areas.Bou Inania Madrasa is a breathtaking 14th-century religious college. It is one of the best examples of Islamic architecture in Fez, with wooden walls elaborately carved with geometric patterns and Arabic calligraphy. It is the only Madrasa in Fes with a minaret, which has a tiled top.
Rabat
Rabat is the current capital of Morocco, and a relatively modern city, on the Atlantic Coast. The distintive blue streets of the Kasbah of the Udayas date back to the 12th century.On the edge of Rabat, Chellah is an old city founded by Carthaginians, later conquered by the Romans. The ruins include Arab developments with a stork's nest on the top of an old minaret.
The Hassan Tower, 44m high, was intended to be the minaret of the largest mosques in the world, in 1195. The Tower and the mosque were never completed. Nearby the modern mausoleum of Mohammed V was completed in 1971 and holds the tombs of the king and his two sons King Hassan II and Prince Abdallah.
Introduction
Morocco imperial cities