Sultan Moulay Ismail (1645-1727) was well-known for his ruthlessness. The ruler was said to have been fearsome, treating slaves harshly as he made them work tirelessly to realise his visions. In fact, it is even said that the visionary ruler treated slaves with little respect or dignity, seeing them as below him. Despite his mistreatment of slaves however, he did have a soft side. The sultan was famous for taking good care of his horses. He cared for them so much, that each one of them even had their own personal slaves, with one to groom them and one to take care of their general welfare. There are even stories that his slaves used to catch the horses’ urine in a bowl instead of letting it touch the “ineligible” ground. Thus, the Royal Stables (also known as Heri es-Souani or Dar el Ma) was built in a grand scale with a capacity to accommodate not 10 or 20, but a total of 12,000 horses! As you can imagine, the size of the stables is absolutely massive. Throughout the long walk, you will see small ceiling windows that were part of the cooler system, which gave the horses ventilation. You might be disappointed to learn that there are no horses, but can you imagine 12,000 of them being kept in the same place? It would’ve been utter chaos. At least this way, you can see how they were cared for without having to endure the noise or smell.