Marrakech

Marrakech or Marrakesh (both: märä`kĕsh, mə–), city (1994 pop. 672,478), W central Morocco. The city, renowned for leather goods, is one of the principal commercial centers of Morocco and a major tourist center. It was founded (1062) by the Almoravid leader Yusuf ibn Tashfin and was the capital of Morocco from then until 1147 and again from 1550 to 1660. It was captured by the French in 1912.

Beautifully situated near the Atlas Mts., Marrakech has extensive gardens, ruins of a 16th-century palace, a former palace of the sultan that is now a museum of Moroccan art, and a royal necropolis (16th–18th cent.). The 253-ft (77-m) minaret (completed 1195) of the Koutoubia mosque dominates the city. The Université Ben Youssef, a center of Islamic studies, and a public university are in Marrakech.

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Marrakech

 or Marrakesh

City (pop., 2004: 823,154), west-central Morocco. One of the four imperial cities, it lies in the centre of the Haouz plain. It was founded in the mid-11th century by Yusuf ibn Tashufin as the capital of the Almoravid dynasty. It fell to the Almohad dynasty in 1147, passed to the Marinid dynasty in 1269, and was the capital under the Sa'did dynasty in the 16th century. In the premodern era, it was one of Islam's great cities. In 1912 it was captured by the French, who dominated the city until 1956. Now a popular tourist destination, it has many historical buildings and a well-known souk within its ancient city centre (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985).