The Oued Tensift Bridge is a historic

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

over the Tensift River located just north 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 ...

. It was originally built during the Almohad period in the 12th century.

History

According to the historical writings of Al-Idrisi, a first bridge over the Tensift River was built by 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 s ...

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 (ruled 1106–1143) with the help of architects from

al-Andalus Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...

. The bridge was strategically important as it allowed the river to be crossed during its yearly floods. However, this first bridge was destroyed by floods a few years after completion. Around 1170 CE, the Almohad ruler Abu Ya'qub Yusuf ordered the reconstruction of the bridge at a less vulnerable point 400 meters downstream. According to Marmol, this original bridge had 15 arches. Today the bridge has 27 arches, most likely due to the fact that the riverbed has widened since the 12th century and the bridge therefore had to be extended in turn over the years. The original Almohad bridge most likely corresponds to the middle sections of the current bridge. The bridge is built on pillars that have a stepped and pointed profile upstream and a simply blunt profile downstream, allowing the structure to withstand the force of the waters over centuries.

References

{{Africa-bridge-struct-stub Buildings and structures in Marrakesh Bridges in Morocco Almohad architecture

History

See also

References