Bab el-Khemis () is the main northern
gate
A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...
of the
medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
(historic
walled city) of
Marrakesh
Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
,
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
.
Description
The gate is located in the northern/northeastern corner of the city walls and dates back to around 1126
CE when the
Almoravid
The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century that ...
emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
Ali ibn Yusuf
Ali ibn Yusuf (also known as "Ali Ben Youssef") () (born 1084 died 26 January 1143) was the 5th Almoravid emir. He reigned from 1106–1143.
Biography
Ali ibn Yusuf was born in 1084 in Ceuta. He was the son of Yusuf ibn T ...
built the first walls of the city.
It was originally known as Bab Fes ("Gate of
Fes
Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...
"), but this name was apparently lost during the
Marinid
The Marinid Sultanate was a Berber Muslim empire from the mid-13th to the 15th century which controlled present-day Morocco and, intermittently, other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula (Spain) a ...
era.
The gate's current name (el-Khemis) refers to the
souk or open-air market which historically took place here every Thursday (''al-Khamis'' in
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
).
Nowadays, the market continues almost all week right outside the gate,
while a permanent
flea market
A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...
, ''Souk al-Khemis'', has been constructed a few hundred meters to the north.
Also just outside the gate is a ''
qubba
A ''qubba'' ( ar, قُبَّة, translit=qubba(t), pl. ''qubāb''), also transliterated as ḳubba, kubbet and koubba, is a cupola or domed structure, typically a tomb or shrine in Islamic architecture. In many regions, such as North Africa, the ...
'' (domed
mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
) housing the tomb of a local
marabout
A marabout ( ar, مُرابِط, murābiṭ, lit=one who is attached/garrisoned) is a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the function of a chaplain serving as a part of an Islamic army, notably in North Africa and the Saha ...
or
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
.
The gate's outer entrance is flanked on either side by square
bastion
A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...
s. The gate's passage originally consisted of a
bent entrance
A bent or indirect entrance is a defensive feature in medieval fortification.Adrian Boas, On a Necessary Vulnerability, https://www.adrianjboas.com/post/on-a-necessary-vulnerability In a castle with a bent entrance, the gate passage is narrow and ...
which effected a single 90-degree turn; one entered the gate from the north and then exited westwards into the city.
According to legend, the door leaves of the gate were brought from Spain by a victorious
Yusuf ibn Tashfin
Yusuf ibn Tashfin, also Tashafin, Teshufin, ( ar, يوسف بن تاشفين ناصر الدين بن تالاكاكين الصنهاجي , Yūsuf ibn Tāshfīn Naṣr al-Dīn ibn Tālākakīn al-Ṣanhājī ; reigned c. 1061 – 1106) was l ...
.
During the
Almohad
The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the Tawhid, unity of God) was a North African Berbers, Berber M ...
period, the
gatehouse
A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mos ...
was expanded such that its passage effected three more
right-angle
In geometry and trigonometry, a right angle is an angle of exactly 90 degrees or radians corresponding to a quarter turn. If a ray is placed so that its endpoint is on a line and the adjacent angles are equal, then they are right angles. T ...
turns before exiting southwards. This gave it a similar form and layout to several other major Almohad gates such as
Bab er-Rouah
Bab er-Rouah (also spelled Bab er-Ruwah or Bab Rouah) is a monumental City gate, gate in the Almohad Caliphate, Almohad-era ramparts of Rabat, Morocco.
History
It was built by the Almohad Caliphate, caliph Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, Ya'qub al- ...
.
The outline of the gate's original exit, now walled-up, can still be seen in its interior western wall.
The gate underwent a significant renovation in 1803–04 on the orders of Sultan
Moulay Slimane, noted by a marble inscription found inside.
At some point in the 20th century, the inner wall of the passage was opened up to allow a straight passage directly through the gate in order to facilitate the heavy traffic in the area, resulting in the current form of the gate.
marabout
A marabout ( ar, مُرابِط, murābiṭ, lit=one who is attached/garrisoned) is a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the function of a chaplain serving as a part of an Islamic army, notably in North Africa and the Saha ...
's tomb or ''qubba
A ''qubba'' ( ar, قُبَّة, translit=qubba(t), pl. ''qubāb''), also transliterated as ḳubba, kubbet and koubba, is a cupola or domed structure, typically a tomb or shrine in Islamic architecture. In many regions, such as North Africa, the ...
'' just outside the gate
References
{{Marrakesh
Almoravid architecture
Gates of Marrakesh