Found­ed in 1070–72 by the Almoravids, Mar­rakesh remained a polit­i­cal, eco­nom­ic and cul­tur­al cen­tre for a long peri­od. Its influ­ence was felt through­out the west­ern Mus­lim world, from North Africa to Andalu­sia. It has sev­er­al impres­sive mon­u­ments dat­ing from that peri­od: the Koutoubiya Mosque, the Kas­bah, the bat­tle­ments, mon­u­men­tal doors, gar­dens, etc. Lat­er archi­tec­tur­al jew­els include the Ban­dia Palace, the Ben Youssef Madrasa, the Saa­di­an Tombs, sev­er­al great res­i­dences and Place Jamaa El Fna, a ver­i­ta­ble open-air the­atre.