Beni Mellal (or Bni Mellal in Berber which means ‘Day’) is a city located at the foot of ‘Mount Tassemit’ (at an altitude of 2247 meters) next to the plains of ‘Beni Amir’, and is the capital city of the ‘Tadla-Azilal’ region. In 1688, ‘Moulay Ismail’ (the second ruler of the Moroccan ‘Alaouite’ Dynasty) built the fortresses of ‘Tadla’, the Kasbah ‘Bel-Kush’, and the medina walls. During this period, Beni Mellal was first called ‘Ismali’. He also constructed the well-known Kasba ‘Ras el Ain’, in order to protect the spring ‘Ain Asserdoun’ and to protect the surrounding area which overlooks the whole city along with the agricultural surroundings.
In the surrounding area ‘Soumaa’ (a city next to Beni Mellal), there also exists a ‘Zaouia’, which dates back to the 16th century and is nowadays still used for religious purposes. The cities ‘Tadla’ and ‘Soumaa’ formed afterwards the name Beni Mellal. Nowadays, the place is quite modern and forms an important economic centre for the region, particularly in the areas of petrochemical production and textile manufacturing. Next to that, they also produce local agricultural products such as oranges, olives, figs etc.
Beni Mellal is part of the tourism region ‘Atlas and Valleys‘ of Morocco.