Marrakech
Marrakesh gave its name to the kingdom of which it was long the capital. Enchantingly sited at the foot of the High Atlas Mountains, its rose-coloured walls set within lush green gardens, olive groves and palmeries, it is hard to imagine that Marrakesh, one of Morocco's four Imperial Cities, lies on the edge of the Sahara. Its very name conjures up images of magic carpets and snake charmers - and not without reason. After dark, the central square in the medina, Jemaa-el-Fna, comes to life and puts on a show little changed since medieval times. It is a riot of enticing colour, noise and smells, with dancers, fire-eaters and acrobats, snake charmers and snake oil salesmen, story tellers and fortune-tellers and rows of trestle tables serving up smoking barbecues and mouth-watering tajines. Around this vast open space stretch the shadowy alleyways of the souks, a vast marketplace selling herbs and potions, carpets and candles, jewellery, spices, meat and metalwork. Marrakesh has long been an important crossroads and trading centre for the Arabic, Berber and black African civilisation. To the Arabic northerners, it is seen as the "beginning of the south".
Fes
Fes (Fez) is Morocco's oldest Imperial city and its "old town" is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Founded in the 9th century and home to the oldest university in the world, Fez reached its height in the 13th–14th centuries under the Marinids, when it replaced Marrakesh as the capital of the kingdom. The urban fabric and the principal monuments in the medina – madrasas, fondouks, palaces, residences, mosques and fountains - date from this period. Although the political capital of Morocco was transferred to Rabat in 1912, Fez has retained its status as the country's cultural and spiritual centre. The Medina (old town) is called Fes el-Bali and behind its high walls is a magical, medieval city just teeming with life in every one of its 9000 narrow streets.
Meknes
Meknes is smaller and a little more laid back than Marrakech and Fes yet this imperial city has similar charms. The Imperial City, built by the powerful Moulay Ismail in the 17th Century, is a showcase of Moroccan architecture complete with huge gates and impressive carvings. Nicknamed the Moroccan Versailles, Meknes contains the Sultan's palace and grounds and a wonderfully preserved medina filled with souqs which are easy to navigate without a guide. The Roman ruins of Volubilis and the holy city of Moulay-Idriss, founded in AD 788, lie to the north.
