The Mouassine Fountain is a part of the 16th-century religious complex of the

Mouassine Mosque The Mouassine Mosque or al-Muwassin Mosque () is a major neighbourhood mosque (a Friday mosque) in Marrakech, Morocco, dating from the 16th century during the Saadian Dynasty. It shares its name with the Mouassine neighbourhood. History Bac ...

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 ...

. The tradition of building public fountains in Marrakesh is old but took on a very monumental character in the

Saadian The Saadi Sultanate (also rendered in English as Sa'di, Sa'did, Sa'dian, or Saadian; ar, السعديون, translit=as-saʿdiyyūn) was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of West Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was l ...

era.

History

The Mouassine Mosque complex was built between 1562-63 CE (970 AH) and 1572-73 CE (980 AH) on the orders of the Saadian sultan

Abdallah Al-Ghalib Abdallah al-Ghalib Billah (; b. 1517 – d. 22 January 1574, 1557–1574) was the second Saadian sultan of Morocco. He succeeded his father Mohammed al-Shaykh as Sultan of Morocco. Biography Early life With his first wife Sayyida Rabia, Mo ...

. It includes a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

, a library, a ''mîdhâ'' ( ablutions facility), a

hammam A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited f ...

and the Mouassine Fountain. It also included a children's Qur'anic school (''msid'') which no longer retains its function today. The fountain is one of the largest in the medina of Marrakesh, along with the fountain of the

Bab Doukkala Mosque The Bab Doukkala Mosque (or Mosque of Bab Doukkala) is a major neighbourhood mosque (a Friday mosque) in Marrakesh, Morocco, dating from the 16th century. It is named after the nearby city gate, Bab Doukkala, in the western city walls. It is also ...

and the Shrob ou Shouf Fountain, both also from the Saadian period. It is located in the north of the ablutions room of the Mouassine mosque.

Function

The presence of the water supply system necessary for the ''mîdhâ'' and the hammam led the Saadian architects to build open fountains with drinking troughs near the mosques. So, it was a question of ensuring the supplying of the district with drinking water, while registering this act in its religious dimension since giving to drink constitutes in the

Muslim world The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...

one of the most honorable alms. The fountain is inserted next to three arches which gave access to drinking troughs for animals. The large fountain was reserved for humans while the two drinking troughs next to it; covered with vaults and opening onto the street by three arches, were used, at the time, to water the animals, especially donkeys.

Architecture and ornamentation

The medina of

has 45 public drinking fountains. Depending on its location, each fountain has a monumental or a modest appearance. Large fountains, like that of Mouassine, abundantly decorated, are located next to

s and/or

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 ...

s. These require the attribution of an architectural and decorative aspect to their annexes such as fountains. On the other hand, small neighborhoods must also have autonomy and access to water, their size therefore depends on the size of the neighborhood, some of them are decorated while others are much simpler. The Mouassine Fountain is rectangular in shape and consists of a large opening resembling a

corbel arch A corbel arch (or corbeled / corbelled arch) is an arch-like construction method that uses the architectural technique of corbeling to span a space or void in a structure, such as an entranceway in a wall or as the span of a bridge. A corbel v ...

. The arch is made out of wood and a projecting canopy of carved wood hangs above it. Next to it are three other large arches which contained the drinking troughs. All together, these four arches occupy a rectangular space measuring 18.1 meters long and 4.7 meters wide. The fountain arch has piers that support two plaster consoles on which rest corbels and three lintels protected by a canopy. The whole is in cedar wood decorated with

painted Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...

and chiseled floral motifs. File:Fontaine Mouassine et trois grandes arcades à côté.jpg, The fountain and the three arches (drinking troughs) next to it File:Console en plâtre ciselée et polychrome - Fontaine Mouassine à Marrakech.jpg, Console in chiseled and polychrome plaster Inside above on a horizontal beam, a large carved plaster frieze features a geometric pattern of an eight-pointed star called "Mtemmen maa'kous". This geometric motif is inserted between two small friezes, narrower and also in carved plaster, repeat the eulogy "العز لله" meaning "The glory is to God". File:Auvent de la fontaine Mouassine à Marrakech.jpg, Canopy of the fountain File:Corbeaux et linteaux - Fontaine Mouassine à Marrakech.jpg, Corbels and lintels Above, on the wooden beam, an inscription was painted in black on a plaster frieze that no longer exists today. It is visible in an old photograph in the book “Things seen in Morocco” by

Alec John Dawson Alec John Dawson (1872 - 3 February 1951), generally known as A. J. Dawson (pseudonyms Captain Dawson, Major Dawson, Howard Kerr, Nicholas Freydon) was an English author, traveller and novelist. During World War I he attained the rank of Major, ...

(P. 207) and its restitution was possible thanks to the reproduction of A. Bernard figured in the book “Picturesque and monumental geography” (P. 206). The inscription says: بُشْرَى فَقَدْ أَنْجَزَ اُلإِقْبَالُ ما وَعَدَا ***** وَكَوْكَبُ اُلمَجْدِ في أُفْقِ العُلا صَعِدَا " Good news ! By a favorable fate the promises are fulfilled; and the star of glory rises on the horizon of nobility. " The corbels are decorated with a carved and

pattern, however the polychromy is not very visible. Above the crows, on the first lintel, an inscription is chiseled on two cartridges says: أَحْسَنُ ما صُرِفَ فيه المَقال ***** الحَمْدُ للَّهِ على كُلِّ حــال “The most beautiful words that have been spoken (are): Praise be to God in all circumstances! "

Water source: ''khettara''

To supply drinking water to the fountains of the medina as well as the ablution rooms of mosques, hammams and sometimes large houses, the

Almoravids 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 ...

built an original

hydraulic system Hydraulics (from Greek language, Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is th ...

called ''khettara''. It is an underground drainage tunnel that brings water from the groundwater to the surface of the ground, then distributes it throughout the city and irrigates

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponic ...

s. It consists of a set of vertical wells connected to a slightly sloping drainage tunnel that conveys the water to cisterns or reservoirs. The shafts are used to dig the underground tunnel. And when the construction is finished, they play a role of ventilation and facilitate access to the tunnel for maintenance. Climate change has caused a drop in the level of

water table The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated. T ...

s and the increase in population has resulted in an increase in

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

. This system is therefore no longer sufficient and has consequently been abandoned. However, the ''khettara'' are considered a Moroccan heritage and there have been calls to preserve them.

References

{{Marrakesh Fountains in Morocco Buildings and structures in Marrakesh Tourist attractions in Marrakesh Saadian architecture