Found­ed in the 11th cen­tu­ry by the Almoravids as a mil­i­tary set­tle­ment, Mek­nes became a cap­i­tal under Sul­tan Moulay Ismail (1672–1727), the founder of the Alaw­ite dynasty. The sul­tan turned it into a impres­sive city in Span­ish-Moor­ish style, sur­round­ed by high walls with great doors, where the har­mo­nious blend­ing of the Islam­ic and Euro­pean styles of the 17th cen­tu­ry Maghreb are still evi­dent today.