Meknes

Meknes is often called the Versailles of Morocco, and the comparison is not accidental. Sultan Moulay Ismail envisioned a capital that would rival the courts of Louis XIV, and the result is a city of monumental gates, vast granaries, and gardens that stretch toward the horizon.

The medina of Meknes is quieter than Marrakech or Fes, but no less rich. The Heri es-Souani — Ismail's great storehouses — speak to the ambition of a ruler who planned to feed 12,000 horses within its walls. The Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail remains one of the few religious sites in Morocco open to non-Muslim visitors.