Menara Gardens

 

One of the most important places to go to if you are visiting Marrakech for the first time is the Menara Gardens, a place which was founded in the 12th century, and still, keep its magic and historical stories.

Menara Gardens or just “Mnara” like the Marrakchi citizens call it, is a big area planted in olive trees, and there is a big basin that is used as a water reserve for watering the trees and the plants in the area.  Historians say that in the age of the Almohad Dynasty, the basin was a huge pool to teach the Moroccan soldiers to swim, before sending them to Spain, particularly the Andalusia province which was under Moroccan control in that time.

Menara gardens are localized about 45 Minutes in feet from Jamaa Elfna Square, and nearly 3 Kilometers from the historic walls of the city. The basin of Menara is surrounded by the olive trees, and a beautiful dome is overlooking the basin, we can clearly notice the Moroccan architecture touch in the dome, and finally, the Atlas Mountains covering by the white color of snow settled in the background in the beautiful horizon.

The amazing thing is that the basin of Menara is supplied with water thanks to a hydraulic system over 700 years old, which carries water from the Atlas Mountains located over 30 km from the city of Marrakech, and the hydraulic system still working until now!

And back to the Menara bulding,its dome is composed of two floors, its roof is made of cedarwood, the walls and the roof of the dome are decorated by Arabic religious inscriptions, and there are also windows and a balcony overlooking the basin, we can assure you that the view from this balcony really worth it!