City Meknès Morocco

 History of Meknes

Although the city of Meknes was founded in the eighth century AD, it did not become a metropolis until the arrival of the Almoravids, where the city flourished and some neighborhoods emerged, the most important of which is the Almoravid Kasbah "Takrart". They also built the Almoravid Mosque and surrounded the city with a wall at the end of their reign. The neighborhood that still exists near the Almoravid Mosque is considered the oldest neighborhood in the city.

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Under the rule of the Almohads, the city witnessed an urban boom, as the Great Mosque was expanded during the reign of Muhammad al-Nasir (1199-1213 AD), and the city was supplied with water through an advanced system starting from the "Takma" spring to meet the needs of baths, mosques and fountains. This era also witnessed the emergence of new neighborhoods such as the new Hammam neighborhood and the Sidi Ahmed Ben Khadra neighborhood.

During the Marinid era, the city witnessed the settlement of a large number of Andalusians who came to Meknes after the fall of the most important centers of Andalusia. The Marinid Sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub (1269-1286 AD) built a Kasbah outside the city, of which only the mosque known as Bilala Aouda has survived. Meknes Ez-Zeitoun also witnessed the construction of ancient schools such as the Filala School, the Bou Inania School and the Adoul School, as well as mosques such as the Tuta Mosque and the Zarqa Mosque, the library of the Great Mosque, the Bab Jedid Hospital and the Souika Bath.

During the Alaouite dynasty, especially during the reign of Sultan Moulay Ismail, the city regained its status as the capital of the state, and witnessed the most glorious periods of its history. Religious buildings were built there, such as the Bab Bardaayin Mosque, the Zitouna Mosque and the Sidi Said Mosque, and the minarets of these mosques, through their decoration, suggest a clear Saadi influence. In addition to palaces and other important buildings, Sultan Moulay Ismail built the Great House on the ruins of the Marinid Kasbah and part of the old city.

He also built many gardens (Al-Bahrawiya-Al-Sawani), horse stables, grain stores, and a cistern to supply the neighborhoods with water. He surrounded the city with a wall interspersed with several huge towers and historical gates such as Bab Mansour and Bab Al-Barda’iyyin.

Near these gates, several hotels or rest stops were prepared for those coming from distant areas. As for the markets, they were organized and known according to the type of craft or industry, such as the carpentry market, the blacksmith marke

t, and others.

Meknes did not give up its importance as a storehouse city and a major metropolis even when it lost its status as the political capital of the Alaouites during the second half of the 18th century AD in favor of its neighbor Fez at first, as it was a preferred residence for a number of princes and statesmen.

During Morocco's French protectorate starting in 1912, the French built the new city in the European style with its streets, buildings, gardens, industrial, commercial and residential neighborhoods and all its administrative, military, sports and cultural facilities in the area known as Hamria, where the city began to regain some of its roles as a strategic location of primarily military and economic importa