Mellah District
This point of interest is available as audio on the tour: Visit Marrakech, The Gate to the South
The Mellah district is the former Jewish quarter of Marrakech.
It was in 1558 that Sultan Moulay Abdallah ordered that the Jews be brought together in a single neighbourhood, to avoid conflict with the rest of the population, who were Muslims. This is the second oldest Jewish district in the country.
This population, driven out of Spain after the Reconquista of 1492, arrived in Morocco in large numbers and settled in the towns, merging with the local Jewish population. This led to the creation of the mellahs, which were districts where the Jewish residents of a town lived. Surrounded by fortifications, the mellah of Marrakech was a large commercial area where jewellers, goldsmiths and weavers gathered.
Nowadays, very few Jews live in this district, as many emigrated to Israel in the 1950s. At the time, however, it was estimated that between 30,000 and 40,000 people lived in the district. You can still visit the synagogue, established in 1492, the spice souk and the charming alleyways, which will whisk you 5 centuries back in time.
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