Beni Mellal, the capital of the Béni Mellal-Khénifra, is located at the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, approximately 270 km inland, directly east of Safi. It rose to prominence during the reign of
Moulay Ismail, who constructed the Kasbah Bel-Kush at the gates of the city, as a market town for agriculture from the fertile Tadla plain.