Bab Elmaleh

The Bab Elmaleh gate features an arched entryway carved directly into the thick, sun-baked clay walls of the Marrakech medina. This gate served as a specialized transit point for the Jewish population living in the Mellah during the nineteenth century. While other gates handled general trade or military traffic, this passage controlled movement into the neighborhood. Legend tells of a merchant who once smuggled spices through here, only to have the gatekeeper insist on a tax paid in silver coins.