Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail

Moulay Ismail ruled from 1672 to 1727, moved the capital to Meknes, and built the imperial city that survives in fragments around his tomb. The mausoleum is the exception to the general Moroccan rule that non-Muslims do not enter religious buildings - visitors are admitted to the courtyards and to the threshold of the burial chamber, from which the tomb, the standing clocks reportedly given by Louis XIV, the zellige and the carved plaster are visible without entering the chamber itself. The sequence of courtyards leading in is the better part: bare, white, tiled at the base, each one quieter than the last, with fountains and a shift in scale that is deliberate. Shoes come off at the threshold and dress should be modest. The building was restored in the twentieth century and again more recently, and has closed for periods of work.

History

Moulay Ismail became sultan on the death of his brother Moulay Rashid in 1672 and, breaking with tradition, made Meknes his capital, building on the south-west side of the old city a vast walled imperial kasbah of several palaces, gardens and reservoirs; his 55-year reign, to his death in 1727, was one of the longest in Moroccan history. The earliest of the palaces, Dar al-Kebira in the north of the kasbah, was finished in 1679, with the Lalla Aouda Mosque beside it, and it is there that his mausoleum stands: the palace itself did not survive the centuries, but the tomb has been kept up to this day (Wikipedia, Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail).

What to look for

• An open shrine - one of few in Morocco that non-Muslims may enter.
• A sequence of courtyards - white and tiled, quieting step by step towards the tomb.
• The burial chamber from the threshold - tomb, zellige and carved plaster, seen not entered.
• The standing clocks - reported gifts from Louis XIV, kept in the chamber.

When to go

October to April. An hour. Avoid Friday prayer times.

Things to know

The burial chamber is viewed from the threshold, not entered. Shoes off and modest dress are required. It has closed for restoration for extended periods - check. A donation is expected at the door.

Nearby

Bab Mansour and El Hedim are north; the granaries are south.

Key facts