Perched on a hill as if sitting on a throne, Meknes makes its status of imperial city quite obvious.
A prosperous town in the fertile land of the Middle Atlas, it was raised to the sacred rank of capital by Sultan Moulay Ismail, whose overweening ambition alone justified the excessive scale of the work undertaken.
Thirty thousand people were requisitioned to turn the dreams of one single man into incredible
reality. Dozens of palaces vying to be the most beautiful, sumptuous mosques, decorated squares, monumental doors, gracious residences, deep lakes, casbahs, extensive gardens, strongholds, and kilometres of walls were erected together to create a town dominated by its emerald green minarets with their angular shapes and slender lines.
While the work was never completely finished, the squares thot remained free of building work now convey an impression of airy space, which gives its districts a pleasantly peaceful atmosphere. Born of a passion, Meknes relates through each of its stones the story of its lavish, tumultuous past, an unusual history thot deserves to live on for ever.