Meknes: Sightseeing and Monuments
Bab Mansour
The Bab Mansour gate is the biggest and the most important city gate in Meknes, and the biggest one in Morocco — at least that's what you'll hear in Meknes. Whether that is true or not, the gate looks magnificent. It was completed in the middle of the 18th century. The big gate is always closed, but you can pass through a small entrance near it.
The Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail
The Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail is the resting place of the sultan who made Meknes an imperial city. Non-muslims can enter the sanctuary freely, but cannot access the tomb. The mausoleum is an example of well-preserved, beautiful Moroccan mosaics, stuccos and architecture in general.
Opening hours: 9am-12pm and 3pm-6pm, every day, except friday morning.
Entrance fee: free!
Note: Like in any holy muslim place, you must take your shoes off and be properly dressed.
Heri es-Souani
Heri es-Souani is the enormous granary built by Moulay Ismail for more than 12,000 horses that he posessed. The interior is cool even during summer, thanks to the massive walls that have a width of up to 4m (13 ft). This is a much sought-after filming location for Hollywood moviemakers. This is especially true for the arcades outside the granary, overgrown with foliage and olive trees. To the north of the granary, there is the Agdal basin, which provided water for the sultan's horses and gardens and which also served as a water reserve for the Meknes if a siege were to happen.
Opening hours: 9am-12pm and 3pm-6pm.
Entrance fee: 20 Dh.
The Meknes Medina
The medina in Meknes isn't as nearly as exciting as the one in Marrakech or as charming as the one in Fes. You can enter it from the nice-looking Place el-Hedim. There are not so many shops selling Moroccan craftmanship products here, you'll rather see a lot of them selling western clothes, sneakers and such. The Dar Jamai Museum is worth visiting, with a nice display of traditional Moroccan produce: carpets, ceramics, jewellery and carved wood (open from 9am-12pm & 3pm-6.30pm, on weekdays except for Tuesday, the entrance fee is 10 Dh). Also, visit the Medersa Bou Inania, a religious school building, for its nice architecture. Open every day from 9am-12pm and 3pm-6.30pm. Entrance fee: 10 Dh.