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Moulay Ismail Mausoleum Review

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Moulay Ismail Mausoleum

  • Address: Next to Bab er-Rih in the Imperial City, Meknes

Fodor's Review:

One of four sacred sites in Morocco open to non-Muslims (the others are Casablanca's Hassan II, Rabat's Mohammed V Mausoleum, and Rissani's zaouia of Moulay Ali Sherif), this mausoleum was opened to non-Muslims by King Mohammed V (grandfather of Mohammed VI) in honor of Ismail's manifestly ecumenical instincts. Always an admirer of France's King Louis XIV -- who, in turn, considered the sultan an important ally -- Moulay Ismail maintained close ties with Europe and signed commercial treaties even as he battled to eject the Portuguese from their coastal strongholds at Asilah, Essaouira, and Larache. The mausoleum's site once held Meknes's Palais de Justice (Courthouse), and Moulay Ismail deliberately chose it as his resting place in the stated hope that he would be judged in his own court by his own people. The lovely ocher-hue walls inside (pale yellow on their sun-bleached upper parts) lead to the sultan's private sanctuary, on the left, heavily decorated with zellij tiles bearing colorful geometric patterns. To the right is Moulay Ismail's tomb, surrounded with hand-carved cedar and stucco walls and more zellij.

  • Cost: 20 DH
  • Open: Daily 9-1 and 3-6:30

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