Marrakech, sometimes written Marrakesh, is the capital of Morocco’s central region. It is the first of Morocco’s four imperial cities, located on the rich, irrigated Haouz Plain south of the Tennsift River. In 1985, UNESCO classified the city’s old portion, known as the Medina, as a World Heritage Site.
The kingdom of Marrakech was named after it, and it was the capital for a long time. It was built in the mid-11th century by the Almoravid dynasty’s Ysuf ibn Tshufn, and it served as the Almoravid capital until 1147, when it fell to the Almohads. The Marnids took possession of Marrakech in 1269, preferring the northern city of Fès as their capital.