The Zaouia of Sidi Bel Abbes is a religious complex around the tomb of a Sufi saint, Abu Abbas al-Sabti, aka Sidi Bel Abbes (lived 1129/30–1205), who taught the Koran and promoted social welfare in Marrakesh, particularly for blind people.

The Saadian sultan Abu Faris Abdallah (ruled 1603–08) commissioned the mausoleum and zaouia in hopes of gaining the saint’s blessing to help cure his epilepsy. It's been regularly refurbished and added to over the years since.

From the south (coming from Bab Taghzout) you enter the zaouia compound through an enclosed souk that can be locked at both ends after dark. It used to be a gold souk, but the jewellers, who were nearly all Jewish, left in the wake of various Arab-Israeli wars. Many of the shops now house tailors.