Marrakechalso spelled Marrakesh chief city of central Morocco. The first of Morocco’s four imperial cities, it lies in the centre of the fertile, irrigated Haouz Plain, south of the Wadi Tennsift River. The ancient section of the city, known as the medīnahmedina, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985.


Surrounded by a vast palm grove, the medīnah medina in Marrakech is called the “red city” because of its buildings and ramparts of beaten clay, which were built during the residence of the Almohads. The heart of the medīnah medina is Jamaa el-Fna square, a vibrant marketplace. Nearby is the 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque with its 253-foot (77-metre) minaret, built by Spanish captives. The 16th-century Saʿdī Mausoleum, the 18th-century Dar el-Beïda Palace (now a hospital), and the 19th-century Bahia royal residence reflect the city’s historical growth. Much of the medīnah medina is still surrounded by 12th-century walls; among the surviving gates to the medīnahmedina, the stone Bab Agnaou is particularly notable. The modern quarter, called Gueliz, to the west of the medīnah, medina developed under the French protectorate.

Marrakech is famous for its parks, especially the Menara olive grove and the walled , 1,000-acre (405-hectare) Agdal gardens. An irrigation system built under the Almoravids is still used to water the city’s gardens. Popular for tourism and winter sports, the city is a commercial centre for the High Atlas mountains and Saharan trade and has an international airport. It is connected by railway and road to Safī and Casablanca. Pop. (19942004) metropolitan area, 672,506823,154.