Bab el-Khemis ( ar, باب الخميس, lit=gate of Thursday, translit=''Bāb al-Ḫamīs'') is a historical city gate in the west of the old town (
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, ...
) of
Meknes
Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th c ...
,
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 ...
.
Name
The name of the gate (or the ''Bab'') is spelled in different ways such as ''El Khemiss'' or ''Lakhmis.''
The literal meaning of the name is the Thursday door or gate in Arabic, in reference to the weekly market or
souk
A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, such as in the W ...
, held on a Thursday, which is accessible using the gate. Such reference is commonly used to refer to city gates in other
Moroccan towns such as
Bab el-Khemis in
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 ...
.
History
The city gate was completed in 1686 or 1687 during the reign of
Alaouite Sultan Moulay Ismail who ruled between 1672 and 1727.
It was once the main entrance to the Jewish quarter or
Mellah and the western entrance to the City of the Garden of Amber, Madinat Ar-Riad Al Anbari, which housed the
Oudaya's army and the members of the Ismail's court. The Mellah was razed in 1729 by
Moulay Abdallah
Prince Moulay Abdallah of Morocco, KCVO, (30 July 1935 – 20 December 1983) was the brother of Moulay Hassan, later King Hassan II of Morocco and the son of King Mohammed V of Morocco (1909–1961) and his second wife, Lalla Abla bint Tahar (19 ...
, the son of Moulay Ismail, allegedly in response to the mocking reception of its inhabitants upon his return from a lost battle against the rebels.
The geometry and decorations of the gate are similar to those of
Bab el-Bardayin, which also dates from the reign of Moulay Ismail.
The gate contains an inscription composed of three verses of poetry, as well as the word "constructed" which indicates the date of the completion of its construction: 1098
hijri year
The Hijri year ( ar, سَنة هِجْريّة) or era ( ''at-taqwīm al-hijrī'') is the era used in the Islamic lunar calendar. It begins its count from the Islamic New Year in which Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Yathrib ...
that corresponds to the year 1686–1687.
See also
*
Bab Mansur al-'Alj
References
Bibliography
* Arnold Betten: ''Morocco. Antiquity, Berber Traditions and Islam - History, Art and Culture in the Maghreb.'' DuMont, Ostfildern 2012, pp. 64 and 166.
* Markus Hattstein, Peter Delius (Ed.): ''Islam. Art and architecture'' . Könemann Verlag, Cologne 2000, p. 305. {{ISBN, 3-89508-846-3
Gates of Meknes
'Alawi architecture