The Gardens of Morocco
Majorelle, Agdal, Menara, Jnan Sbil — Islamic garden design, khettara water systems, Almohad engineering
The Islamic garden is a terrestrial echo of paradise. The Quran describes Jannah as gardens with flowing rivers beneath them. The chahar bagh — four-garden layout — divides the space into quadrants with water channels meeting at a central fountain. This geometry appears in the Agdal, the Menara, and countless riad courtyards.
But the engineering beneath the beauty is what makes Moroccan gardens possible in a semi-arid climate. The khettara — an underground water channel — captures groundwater from the Atlas foothills and delivers it by gravity over distances of up to 30 kilometres. No pump. No energy. Just a slight gradient. Morocco once had over 500 khettaras. Fewer than 100 still function.
The Agdal gardens in Marrakech cover 500 hectares — built by the Almohads in the 12th century and maintained by every dynasty since. The reservoir at its heart, the Dar el Hana, holds water that irrigates olive and citrus groves. The system has functioned for 800 years.
The Menara gardens are simpler — a single massive basin reflecting the Atlas Mountains, surrounded by olive groves. The pavilion is Saadian, 16th century. The basin is Almohad, 12th century. The olives are productive — not ornamental.
Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech was created by the French painter Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s, then rescued from demolition by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé in 1980. The cobalt blue that covers its walls — Majorelle Blue, hex #6050DC — has become synonymous with Marrakech. But the garden's real achievement is its botanical collection: over 300 species from five continents, including 150 varieties of cacti.
Jnan Sbil in Fes is the public garden — 19th century, 7.5 hectares, the green lung of the medina. Unlike the royal gardens, Jnan Sbil was always open to the people. Its recent restoration by the Millennium Challenge Corporation preserved the original water channels while adding modern infrastructure.
Explore the full interactive module — with garden plans, water system diagrams, and the botanical inventory of Morocco's great gardens — at Dancing with Lions: https://www.dancingwiththelions.com/data/gardens-of-morocco
Interactive Module
Data and visualisation by Dancing with Lions
