It Contains, Indeed, A Great Many Mosques, Caravanseras,
Public Baths, Marketplaces Or Squares, And Palaces Of The Xeriffes,
But All In Almost Deplorable State Of Ruin.
Not many years since, this
city was the Imperial residence, and contained six hundred and fifty
thousand inhabitants; but the late civil wars, and the plague, which
raged with such violence, in the beginning of the present Emperor's
reign, nearly depopulated it.
In consequence of the latter melancholy
event, the court was removed to Fez and Mequinez. To this account we
may place the present desolate appearance of Morocco. The Imperial
palace is, however, kept in repair, as the Emperor goes to Morocco
annually to spend the fast-days, which are during the months of
October and November; scarcely one fourth of the other palaces and
houses are inhabited; but though this city now exhibits evident
symptoms of rapid decay, we may still form a just idea of its former
grandeur and magnificence.
The plain of Morocco is bounded by that long ridge of mountains called
_Atlas_, which screen the town from the scorching heat of the easterly
winds, while the snow, with which their summits are covered, renders
the climate more temperate than in other parts of
Barbary. Notwithstanding the salubrity of the climate of Morocco, a
residence there is rendered miserable, by the multitudes of scorpions,
serpents, gnats, and bugs, which infest the town and its
neighbourhood.
His Imperial Majesty holds a court of justice here, previous to the
commencement of the holidays, and also issues orders for a general
ablution by men, women, and children, of every class:
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