I’ve been twice in Meknes. It’s a typical Moroccan town, with all their usual attractions from mosques to tombs, passing through the Medina. However, it misses the strong character of other towns, like Fes and Marrakech, or even Essaouira or Tangier.
Anyway, its location makes it an almost mandatory passing point. Being there, you better reserve one day to visit it, without regrets.
City Walls
The historic city is still surrounded by its large walls, with several doors, each one with its typical architecture and decoration.
Traffic flows outside the walls, escaping from the narrow streets inside, and allowing an easy look at great part of the walls.
Moulay Ismail Mausoleum
One the most beautiful places in this city is this tomb, where the king that built the town and turned it into a imperial city was buried. Until Lisbon’s earthquake that seriously damaged the city, Meknes was Morocco’s capital.
It’s forbidden to take pictures of the tomb, so we had to photograph… the walls. Pretty, anyway!
Transatlantique hotel – Meknes
Transatlantique hotel – Meknes
Hot, Hot, Hot
I stayed there some years ago, in a day when temperature reached… 46º Celsius. The hotel had a superb decoration, and a better location, with a fabulous sight over town, but the air conditioned was a nightmare: In the lucky rooms it cooled a little, with lots of noise. My children couldn’t sleep with the noise.
When I reported the malfunction to the reception, the answer was… “then turn it off”. Splendid!
Finally, they accepted to move them to another room, where things were… bearable.
A good point: the pool. First the surprise of a very deep pool; then the understanding that its deepness was the solution to keep it… not boiling. Very refreshing, but as soon as we came out the water, the wind from the desert, seemed coming from inside a oven. In Marrakesh it seems that we supported 54º, but I didn’t feel so hot as in Meknes.
The hotel was renovated, and downgraded to four stars. It must be much better now!
Address: Rue El Meriniyine, Meknes
