Breaking with tradition, he chose to make Meknes as his capital. Here, he built a monumental imperial palace-city (kasbah) on the southwest side of the old city (the medina). It consisted of several distinct palace complexes and other facilities spread across a vast area enclosed by fortified walls.[1][2][3][4] The earliest of these palaces was the Dar al-Kebira, located in the northern part of the kasbah and finished in 1679.[1] It was adjoined by the Lalla Aouda Mosque, which Moulay Isma'il also built (or rebuilt) around this time.[5]