8/24.- Meknes, Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail

The founder of the Alawite dynasty, Sultan Moulay Ismaïl transformed this military settlement into an imperial city. Moulay Ismail, who was born in 1672 and died in 1727, moved the capital of his reign to Meknes. He reigned for more than fifty years.

Moulay Ismail became obsessed with the idea of building a palace that would be bigger and more beautiful than the one in Versailles when a French princess refused his marriage. More than 50,000 black slaves were forced to work in the construction of his imperial dream, many of them perished. Although the Sultan was one of the worst tyrants this country has ever seen, he is still revered in his shrine.

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