Seats of glorious dynasties
The four royal cities with their centuries-old medinas are among the highlights of Moroccan culture.
They are the cities that were designated as the capital by the ruling sultan during different dynasties, and where during the heyday of the respective dynasty they invested heavily in fine palaces, mosques and Koranic schools.
During French rule, they built more accessible new cities, the Ville Neuves.
It had the unintended consequence of leaving the traditional medinas largely untouched, and like a living picture book, the medinas tell much about the bygone times of glorious dynasties.
Rabat, Fez, Meknes and Marrakech
In Rabat, the political capital, you will find the mausoleum of King Mohammed V, the father of independence and the Hassan Mosque, which dates from the 12th. This unfinished mosque, with its three hundred columns, should have become the largest mosque in the Arab world after that of Mecca. In Fez, Morocco's oldest royal city, you can dream away in a beautiful and luxurious riad. In Fès, which is not only the religious center of Morocco but also the artisan 'capital', is the royal palace: the Dar-al-Makzin. This palace can be visited only from the outside.Meknes is beautifully situated on a hill on the wadi Bou Fekrane in the fertile Saïs plain.
In the seventeenth century, Meknes was the capital of the powerful empire of the Alaouites. Sultan Moulay Ismael had the old Kasbah of the Marinids demolished and replaced by a city wall with beautiful gates. The Bab al Mansour is considered the most beautiful. The kasbah houses the mausoleum of this sultan.
In Volubilis, the country's holiest site, you will dwell on the remains of this largely earthquake-ravaged, historic city from around the beginning of our era.
Remains of a basilica, forum, triumphal arch and the many mosaic floors are reminders of this era. Marrakech is a wonderful destination for a city break. This colorful city is described separately.
