Morocco: Meknes

Meknes is one of the four imperial cities in Morocco (cities that at one point in time were the capital of the country, the other three are Rabat, Fes, and Marrakech). Meknes, the most northern of the four, was the capital between 1672 and 1727 under the reign of Moulay Ismail. It is a UNESCO Workd Heritage site. Spectacular attractions abound here – Bab al-Mansour Gates (spectacularly decorated main city gate), Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, imperial city walls surrounding the medina and royal palaces, the labyrinth-like medina with the Bou Inania Medersa in its heart (an intricately decorated religious school).