Rue Dar el Makhzen (Dar el Makhzen Street), Casablanca

Dar el-Makhzen Street traces a quieter, more restrained side of Casablanca’s historic quarter, defined by high walls, guarded entrances, and long, unbroken facades. Its name comes from the Old Makhzen, an early royal administrative complex at the west end of the street, that predates Casablanca’s large-scale colonial redevelopment. Before the construction of the Royal Palace in the Habous district in the 1920s, this area functioned as the city’s principal seat of power. Today, the Old Makhzen royal complex is strictly closed to the public and continues to operate as a secure royal annex.

Roughly midway along Dar el-Makhzen Street, near its junctions with the surrounding medina lanes, stands a historic mosque commonly referred to as the Dar al-Makhzen Mosque, named for its proximity to the royal complex. Founded in the late 18th century under Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah, the mosque served the population living and working around the administrative quarter during the period when the city was being rebuilt. As with most functioning mosques in Morocco, its prayer spaces are closed to non-Muslims, though its exterior forms part of the historic streetscape of the old town.

From Dar el-Makhzen Street, the route continues eastward onto Sidi Bousmara Street, leading toward the shrine of Sidi Bousmara, a local saint deeply embedded in Casablanca’s spiritual geography. According to local tradition, he is associated with the appearance of a freshwater spring, a vital resource for the early survival of the city. The shrine remains a marabout, or holy man’s tomb.