Bassin Souani

Growing up, I had this idea that Africa is always hot because of the deserts and all that imagery that gets associated with Africa. I was then pleasantly surprised to know that not all of Africa is actually hot. This is particularly true of Northern Africa which Morocco belongs to. I thought that weather was a bit cool when I first arrived, sure, it won’t be anything like Europe but it is a pleasant surprise nonetheless. That is all a distant memory now. While it may indeed be cooler in the early mornings and evening, it can be very warm during the day. I realized how big the temperature range can be here and right now, it is very uncomfortable.

I was walking along the walls of the royal city of Meknès which seem to go on forever. Of course, that is not true since the walls have to surround something. In this case, it was actually the royal palace which no one seems to have any access to. Disappointing as that may be, I had to continue on, there were still places to see here. One such place is the Bassin Souani or the Souani Basin. It seems to be a very large pool of water. Apparently, it wasn’t the case back then. The Bassin Souani, as it is called, used to be water reservoir. Its proximity to the royal palace meant that it also supplied water to the palace and the city in general. It waterways that connected to it are long gone. So are the walls. The water doesn’t even go anywhere. These days, it is more known as nice place to take photos.

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