It was the Almoravid sultan Ali ben Youssef who gave Marrakech its famous surrounding walls in 1132. Enlarged during the reign of the Almohads, then by the Saadians, these 19 km of fortifications enveloping the city are flanked by 202 square towers and endowed with nine gates. They are made of adobe, in warm colours ranging from pink to red depending on the light. Certain sections have been well preserved, particularly near the “Hivernage”, a masterly row of bastions that stretch out for nearly 1,300m without a breach and continue beyond Bab Doukkala.