page_title: History of Marrakesh
section_title: Modern times
hierarchical_section_title: History of Marrakesh / Modern times
caption_attribution_description: English: Hassan II., King of Morocco on his way to the friday prayers in Marrakech
context_page_description: The history of Marrakesh, a city in southern Morocco, stretches back nearly a thousand years. The country of Morocco itself is named after it.
  Founded c. 1070 by the Almoravids as the capital of their empire, Marrakesh went on to also serve as the imperial capital of the Almohad Caliphate from 1147. The Marinids, who captured Marrakesh in 1269, relocated the capital to Fez, leaving Marrakesh as a regional capital of the south. During this period, it often broke off in rebellion into a semi-autonomous state. Marrakesh was captured by the Saadian sharifs in 1525, and resumed its status as imperial capital for a unified Morocco after they captured Fez in 1549. Marrakesh reached its epic grandeur under the Saadians, who greatly embellished the city. The Alawite sharifs captured Marrakesh in 1669. Although it served frequently as the residence of the Alawite sultans, Marrakesh was not their definitive capital, as Alawite sultans moved their courts frequently between various cities.
  In the course of its history, Marrakesh achieved periods of great splendor, interrupted by repeated political struggles, military disorders, famine, plagues and a couple of sacks.
context_section_description: Following the death of El Glaoui in 1956, his vast family properties in and around Marrakesh were seized by the Moroccan state.  The urban development of Marrakesh continued primarily to the west.  The modern downtown has been built primarily along Avenue Muhammad V connecting the Medina with Gueliz, with the town hall, banks, and major commercial buildings concentrated there, while Hivernage has sprouted ever more hotels and apartment complexes, displacing the exclusive luxury villas to the Palmerie east of the city.  The Dar al-Makhzen (Palais Royal) in the Kasbah, profoundly overhauled by King Hassan II of Morocco, continues to serve as a secondary royal residence.  The Mellah, heavily depleted of its Jewish population since the mass emigration of Moroccan Jews to Israel after 1948 or to booming districts elsewhere (esp. Casablanca), has become less distinct from the rest of the Medina.
  Since independence, it has become commonplace to hear that while Rabat may be the political capital, Casablanca the economic capital, Fez the intellectual or traditional capital, Marrakesh remains the cultural and tourist capital of Morocco.
  Marrakesh certainly continued to thrive as a tourist destination, initially as a luxury wintering spot for wealthy Westerners, but soon drawing a wider clientele.  The city became a trendy location to visit for hippies in the 1960s, a "hippie mecca", attracting numerous western rock stars and musicians, artists, film directors and actors, models, and fashion divas. Tourism revenues doubled in Morocco between 1965 and 1970. Yves Saint Laurent, The Beatles, The Stones and Jean-Paul Getty all spent significant time in the city; Laurent bought a property here and renovated the Majorelle Gardens. Due to the large number of American drifters arriving in Morocco and visiting Marrakech in the early 1970s, Moroccans were growing increasingly discontent that their country was being used as a "sort of countercultural waterhole". A 1973 article in The Nation reported that a crackdown by the Moroccan authorities had begun on westerners with long hair. By the mid-1970s, the dope colony which had formed in Morocco had been cleared out. Expatriates with stylistic aspirations, especially from France, have poured investment into the city since this period, and developed many of the riads and palaces. Old buildings were renovated in the Old Medina, new residences and commuter villages were built in the suburbs, and new hotels began to spring up.
  United Nations agencies became active in Marrakech from the 1970s and its political presence internationally has grown with it. In 1982, UNESCO declared the old town area of Marrakech a UNESCO World Heritage Site, raising international awareness of the cultural heritage of the city. In the 1980s, Patrick Guerand-Hermes purchased the 30-acre Ain el Quassimou, built by the Tolstoy family; which is now part of Polo Club de la Palmarie. On April 15, 1994, the Marrakech Agreement was signed here which established the World Trade Organization, and in March 1997, the World Water Council organized its First World Water Forum in Marrakech, attended by some 500 people internationally.  In the 21st century property and real estate development in the city has boomed, with a dramatic increase of new hotels and shopping centres, fuelled by the policies of the Moroccan King Mohamed VI who has the goal of increasing the number of tourists visiting Morocco to 20 million a year by 2020.
  In 2010 a major gas explosion occurred in the city. On April 28, 2011, a bomb attack took place in the Djemaa el-Fna square of the old city, killing 15 people, mainly foreigners. The blast destroyed the nearby Argana Cafe. In November 2016 the city hosted the 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
caption: King Hassan II in Marrakesh, 1966
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