Founded by the Almoravids in 1070 CE, Marrakesh became their capital and, later, that of the Almohads, prospering as a major trading and scholarly hub on the trans-Saharan caravan routes. Morocco's own name in many languages derives directly from «Marrakesh».
At the city's heart lies Jemaa el-Fnaa, a UNESCO-listed Intangible Cultural Heritage site that comes alive at night with street vendors, musicians and storytellers, overlooked by the 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque minaret, whose design became a template echoed by later minarets across Morocco and al-Andalus.
