Royal Stables by the Bassin Souani
I was surprised to see the Bassin Souani here in Meknès. It is actually a large basin of water which used to be a reservoir. The walls are long gone now and what is left is the basin we now see. The reservoir was meant to serve the needs of the nearby royal palace. Just right by the Bassin Souani, there was an interesting structure. The walls here were different from the walls which I have seen in in the city. The walls here are punctuated by large column like structures which I can’t really figure out. Apparently, these were the royal stables. I don’t know why the royal stables would look like this but it sure fooled me.
Outside the Royal Stables
The royal stables were part of the building boom which Sultan Moulay Ismail started when he used Meknès as the capital of his kingdom. A large part of his army makes use of horses which makes sense that he would have a structure dedicated to keeping the horses. I actually thought it would have been a little too close to the royal palace. He could have probably kept a few within the royal palace and that was it. Either way, having the stables nearby means he could summon the army very quickly.
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