The Menara gardens are gardens located to the west of Marrakech

Marrakech

Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...

, Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, at the gates of the Atlas mountains

Atlas Mountains

The Atlas Mountains is a mountain range across a northern stretch of Africa extending about through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. The highest peak is Toubkal, with an elevation of in southwestern Morocco. The Atlas ranges separate the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert...

. They were built in the 12th century (c. 1130) by the Almohad

Almohad

The Almohad Dynasty , was a Moroccan Berber-Muslim dynasty founded in the 12th century that established a Berber state in Tinmel in the Atlas Mountains in roughly 1120.The movement was started by Ibn Tumart in the Masmuda tribe, followed by Abd al-Mu'min al-Gumi between 1130 and his...

 ruler Abd al-Mu'min

Abd al-Mu'min

Abd al-Mu'min also known as Abdelmoumen El Goumi was a Zenata Berber prominent member of the Almohad movement. He became the first Caliph of the Almohad Empire .- Early life :...

.

The name menara derives from the pavillon with its small green pyramid roof (menzeh). The pavilion was built during the 16th century Saadi dynasty

Saadi Dynasty

The Saadi dynasty of Morocco , began with the reign of Sultan Mohammed ash-Sheikh in 1554, when he vanquished the last Wattasids at the Battle of Tadla....

 and renovated in 1869 by sultan Abderrahmane of Morocco

Abderrahmane of Morocco

Moulay Sharif Abderrahmane was sultan of Morocco from 1822 to 1859. He was a member of the Alaouite dynasty.-Biography:He was born in 1778. His reign began at the start of the French occupation of Algeria...

, who used to stay here in summertime.

Irrigation

The pavilion

Pavilion (structure)

In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...

 and basin (an artificial lake) are surrounded by orchard

Orchard

An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...

s and olive grove

Olive Grove

Olive Grove was Sheffield Wednesday F.C.'s first permanent football ground, home to the club for just over a decade at the end of the 19th century...

s. The intention of the basin was to irrigate

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

 the surrounding gardens and orchards using a sophisticated system of underground channels called a qanat

Qanat

A qanāt is a water management system used to provide a reliable supply of water for human settlements and irrigation in hot, arid and semi-arid climates...

. The basin is supplied with water thanks to an old hydraulic system which conveys water from the mountains located 30 km approximately away from Marrakech.

Sources

• Macconi, Ennio (1995) - Marrakech, p. 81-83.
• Bhachem-Benkirane, Narjess and Philippe Saharoff (1990) - Marrakech: Demeures et Jardins Secrets. Paris: ACR Edition, pp. 24-26.