Kasbah Mosque, Marrakesh
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The Kasbah Mosque (), also known as the Moulay al-Yazid Mosque, is a historic
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
in
Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
,
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
. It was originally built by the
Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...
ruler
Yaqub al-Mansur Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Yūsuf ibn Abd al-Muʾmin al-Manṣūr (; d. 23 January 1199), commonly known as Yaqub al-Mansur () or Moulay Yacoub (), was the third Almohad caliph. Succeeding his father, al-Mansur reigned from 1184 to 1199. His reig ...
in 1185–1190 CE. It is located in the Kasbah district, the city's former citadel, near the site of its historic royal palaces. Along with the
Kutubiyya Mosque The Kutubiyya Mosque or Koutoubia Mosque ( ) is the largest mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco. It is located in the southwest medina quarter of Marrakesh, near the Jemaa el-Fnaa market place, and is flanked by large gardens. The mosque was founded i ...
, it is one of the most important historic mosques in Marrakesh.


History

Construction of the mosque was probably begun around 1185 and finished by 1190 (CE), at the apogee of the
Almohad Empire The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...
. It was commissioned by the Almohad
caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
Yaqub al-Mansur Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Yūsuf ibn Abd al-Muʾmin al-Manṣūr (; d. 23 January 1199), commonly known as Yaqub al-Mansur () or Moulay Yacoub (), was the third Almohad caliph. Succeeding his father, al-Mansur reigned from 1184 to 1199. His reig ...
(ruled 1184–1199) as part of the newly created imperial kasbah (citadel) district which was to be the residence of the Almohad Caliph and the seat of government. This followed with a long tradition of rulers in the
Islamic world The terms Islamic world and Muslim 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, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...
(and beyond) who built palace-cities or separate royal districts. The Kasbah Mosque was built to be the
congregational mosque A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''Friday prayer, jumu'ah' ...
for the caliph and for this royal district, where the ruler would go to attend prayers. Even after al-Mansur and after the Almohad Empire had gone, the Kasbah Mosque was held in high esteem by the general population and subsequent rulers, and even competed with the
Kutubiyya Mosque The Kutubiyya Mosque or Koutoubia Mosque ( ) is the largest mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco. It is located in the southwest medina quarter of Marrakesh, near the Jemaa el-Fnaa market place, and is flanked by large gardens. The mosque was founded i ...
for prestige. As early as the
Marinid The Marinid dynasty ( ) was a Berber Muslim dynasty that controlled present-day Morocco from the mid-13th to the 15th century and intermittently controlled other parts of North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia) and of the southern Iberian Peninsula ...
era, rulers and important figures began to be buried in a cemetery just to the south of the mosque, eventually becoming the site of the Saadian dynasty's royal necropolis, known as the
Saadian Tombs The Saadian Tombs are a historic royal necropolis in Marrakesh, Morocco, located on the south side of the Kasbah Mosque, inside the royal kasbah (citadel) district of the city. They date to the time of the Saadian dynasty and in particular to th ...
. In the late 16th century the mosque was severely damaged by an enormous explosion at a nearby gunpowder store. The exact date of the event is not certain, with the earliest estimation being 1562 while the latest it could have happened was in 1573–1574. In any case, the Saadi
sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
Moulay Abd Allah al-Ghalib (ruled 1557–1574) undertook extensive repairs and restorations in the wake of the explosion, with the southern part of the mosque having possibly been the most damaged. Scholars have traditionally supposed that the repairs and reconstruction of this period preserved the original Almohad design, although the stucco decoration visible inside the mosque today is most likely entirely Saadian and replaced whatever decoration would have existed earlier. A more recent study by Íñigo Almela Legorburu argues that the Saadian reconstruction likely enacted some significant changes to the mosque's internal configuration, resulting in its current layout. Even after these repairs, long cracks in the minaret remained visible up until the 20th century. Later, the
Alaouite The Alawi dynasty () – also rendered in English as Alaouite, Alawid, or Alawite – is the current Moroccan royal family and reigning dynasty. They are an Arab Sharifian dynasty and claim descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his ...
sultan Sidi Muhammad Ibn Abd Allah (ruled 1757–1790) undertook another round of extensive restorations during the second half of the 18th century. The wooden cupola at the central entrance to the prayer hall from the courtyard dates from this time, as may other elements. Despite this, it still appears that these later sultans faithfully preserved the form of the original mosque, which may be an indication of the esteem in which it was held. On August 16, 1907, days after the French bombardment of Casablanca and invasion of the Shawiya plains, a group led by gathered at the mosque to pledge allegiance to Abdelhafid as their sultan over his brother Abdelaziz in the Hafidiya. Today, the mosque is still in use for prayer and non-Muslims are not permitted to enter inside (as with other mosques in Morocco).


Location and urban environment

The mosque is in the old Kasbah district of Marrakesh and is located not far from the El-Badi Palace and from the current Royal Palace still used by the Moroccan king today. It is flanked by Place Moulay el Yazid on its eastern side. On its south side are the
Saadian Tombs The Saadian Tombs are a historic royal necropolis in Marrakesh, Morocco, located on the south side of the Kasbah Mosque, inside the royal kasbah (citadel) district of the city. They date to the time of the Saadian dynasty and in particular to th ...
, a narrow necropolis with ornate mausoleums that housed the tombs of the
Saadi dynasty The Saadi Sultanate (), also known as the Sharifian Sultanate (), was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of Northwest Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was led by the Saadi dynasty, an Arab Sharifism, Sharifian dynasty. ...
. The mosque is also close to the city walls and to
Bab Agnaou Bab Agnaou ( or ), also transliterated as Bab Agnaw, is one of the best-known gates of Marrakesh, Morocco. Its construction is attributed to the Almohad caliph Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur and was completed around 1188 or 1190. The gate was the ma ...
, the historical main gate to the Kasbah.


Architecture


Exterior


Outer walls and façades

The exterior of the mosque is imposing, with high walls crowned along the top by
merlon A merlon is the solid, upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications. Merlons are sometimes pierced by narrow, vertical embrasures, or tooth-like slits designed for observation and fire. The sp ...
s above a row of
corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...
s. Along the walls are large pointed
horseshoe arch The horseshoe arch (; ), also called the Moorish arch and the keyhole arch, is a type of arch in which the circular curve is continued below the horizontal line of its diameter, so that the opening at the bottom of the arch is narrower than the ar ...
es, many of which are now walled-in, while some frame the gates of the mosque. Some of the arches on the southwestern side of the mosque accommodate space for shops.


The minaret

The
minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...
, like the more famous Kutubiyya minaret and other minarets in the
Maghreb The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...
, has a square base ( per side) and is divided vertically into two parts: a main body and a much smaller lantern (almost per side) at the top. That said, the decoration of this minaret is different from that of the Koutoubia and would go on to become the prototype for many later minarets built in the Maghreb and
al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...
. The main part of the minaret has plain walls made of
rubble stone Rubble masonry or rubble stone is rough, uneven building stone not laid in regular courses. It may fill the core of a wall which is faced with unit masonry such as brick or ashlar. Some medieval cathedral walls have outer shells of ashlar wit ...
up to the level of the mosque's roof, at which point the rest of the minaret is made of brick and the decoration begins. From here, on each of the almost identical four sides, three narrow
horseshoe arch The horseshoe arch (; ), also called the Moorish arch and the keyhole arch, is a type of arch in which the circular curve is continued below the horizontal line of its diameter, so that the opening at the bottom of the arch is narrower than the ar ...
es are topped by larger polylobed arches ("polylobed" meaning that it is made up of multiple smaller half-circles). In between these arches are thin
engaged column An engaged column is an architectural element in which a column is embedded in a wall and partly projecting from the surface of the wall, which may or may not carry a partial structural load. Sometimes defined as semi- or three-quarter detached ...
s that were once all covered in coloured
faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...
(ceramic), which remains on some of them. This set of elements then blends into the much larger decorative facades above them. These facades feature a wide interlacing ''
sebka ''Sebka'' () refers to a type of decorative motif used in western Islamic ("Moorish") architecture and Mudéjar architecture. History and description Various types of interlacing rhombus-like motifs are heavily featured on the surfaces of mi ...
'' pattern (a common Maghrebi motif that roughly resembles
palmette The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. It has a far-reaching history, originating in ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art o ...
s or
fleur-de-lys The ''fleur-de-lis'', also spelled ''fleur-de-lys'' (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a common heraldic charge in the (stylized) shape of a lily (in French, and mean and respectively). Most notably, the ''fleur-de-lis'' ...
) sculpted in brick and filled-in with green faience. Although the decoration of the four sides of the minaret is almost the same, there are small differences between the north and south facades on the one hand and the east and west facades on the other, with details of the shapes of the ''sebka'' pattern and of the polylobed arches on the lower façade varying slightly. This type of alternation was repeated in other contemporary and later minarets (e.g. the
Hassan Tower Hassan Tower or Tour Hassan (; is the minaret of an incomplete mosque in Rabat, Morocco. It was commissioned by Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, the third caliph of the Almohad Caliphate, near the end of the 12th century. The tower was intended to be t ...
in
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...
or the Chrabliyine Mosque in
Fes Fez () or Fes (; ) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fez-Meknes administrative region. It is one of the largest cities in Morocco, with a population of 1.256 million, according to the 2024 census. Located to the nort ...
). Towards the top, a large
frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...
of green and white geometric mosaic
tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...
s wraps around the minaret, before finishing in a crown of
merlon A merlon is the solid, upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications. Merlons are sometimes pierced by narrow, vertical embrasures, or tooth-like slits designed for observation and fire. The sp ...
s. Between this mosaic tile frieze and the merlons there is currently an empty horizontal band which used to be filled by an Arabic inscription in ''
cuerda seca __NOTOC__ ''Cuerda seca'' (Spanish for "dry cord") is a technique used when applying coloured ceramic glaze, glazes to ceramic surfaces. Description When different coloured glazes are applied to a ceramic surface, the glazes have a tendency to ...
'' tiles, with dark (maybe purple) lettering over a white background. The inscription was in a prominent
kufic The Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script, that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts ...
script and featured the first
surah A ''surah'' (; ; ) is an Arabic word meaning 'chapter' in the Quran. There are 114 ''suwar'' in the Quran, each divided into ayah, verses (). The ''suwar'' are of unequal length; the shortest ''surah'' (al-Kawthar) has only three verses, while ...
of the
Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
, ''
Al-Fatiha Al-Fatiha () is the first chapter () of the Quran. It consists of seven verses (') which consist of a prayer for guidance and mercy. Al-Fatiha is recited in Muslim obligatory and voluntary prayers, known as ''salah''. The primary literal mea ...
''. This frieze did not survive but fragments of it have been found, while the rest of the tile mosaics on the minaret needed to be restored in recent times. The fragments which have been preserved (in a collection kept at the nearby Badi Palace) represent the earliest surviving example of ''cuerda seca'' tilework (a technique originating in al-Andalus) being used in an architectural context. Above this main part of the minaret, the short lantern or secondary shaft on top makes use of similar decoration. It is surmounted by a
finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...
(''jamur'') with three
copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
spheres. A once widely reported belief alleged that they were actually made of pure gold; a legend which originated with this mosque but which latter became associated with the Koutoubia minaret.


Interior


Courtyards

The mosque is roughly square in plan. The floor plan of the mosque is notable for being dominated by the size of its courtyard and for the division of the courtyard into five parts: a large central rectangular courtyard and four minor rectangular courtyards at its corners. The four smaller courtyards are placed in two symmetrical pairs around the main courtyard: two on the west side, two on the east, and separated from the main courtyard by an
arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...
of arches. The large roofless space formed by these five courtyards is surrounded by the indoor prayer hall on one side (to the south) and by a roofed gallery running along the other three sides. The space between each pair of auxiliary courtyards is taken up by a narrow roofed aisle as well – essentially projections of the surrounding gallery. The main courtyard features two fountains: one in the center and a larger one closer to the northern entrance. The two secondary courtyards that are closest to the prayer hall each feature their own central fountain as well. As in other mosques, these fountains serve for ablutions before prayer. A recent study by Íñigo Almela Legorburu hypothesized that the mosque's current configuration with five courtyards is a result of the Saadian-era repairs in the 16th century. The author suggests that the original Almohad mosque would instead have had three separate rectangular courtyards in a configuration similar to that of the unfinished Almohad Great Mosque of Rabat (site of the Hassan Tower today). Under this hypothesis, of the four minor courtyards that stand today only the two southern ones would have existed in the original Almohad design, while only the northern part of the large central courtyard would have existed, thus corresponding to the positions of the three large courtyard fountains today. The courtyards would have been isolated from each other and the rest of the mosque would have been roofed over. The expansion of the central courtyard and the addition of the two minor courtyards to the north would have been a result of a Saadian preference for a large square courtyard in mosques and of a desire to achieve more symmetry in the final layout of the rebuilt mosque.


Prayer hall

The prayer hall itself is located on the south side of the courtyard, and is a
hypostyle In architecture, a hypostyle () hall has a roof which is supported by columns. Etymology The term ''hypostyle'' comes from the ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος ''hypóstȳlos'' meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό ''hypó'' means below or und ...
space with rows of arches running perpendicular into the southern wall of the mosque (the wall furthest from the courtyard) and forming three aisles that run parallel to the wall. The southern wall represents the ''
qibla The qibla () is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to ...
'' (the direction of prayer), and the aisle closest to it is marked off from the others by another row of arches running parallel to the qibla wall. This floor plan is unusual compared to the classical layout of mosques in the western Islamic world (i.e. the Maghreb and al-Andalus) which usually consists of one large courtyard and a generally larger adjacent prayer hall (like at the influential Great Mosque of Cordoba and the prototypical Almohad Mosque of Tinmal, for example). Nonetheless, the mosque still shares many similarities to other Almohad or medieval mosques in the region, as its construction was more or less contemporary with the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech, the
Hassan Tower Hassan Tower or Tour Hassan (; is the minaret of an incomplete mosque in Rabat, Morocco. It was commissioned by Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, the third caliph of the Almohad Caliphate, near the end of the 12th century. The tower was intended to be t ...
in
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...
, and the Almohad Mosque of
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
(replaced by a
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
but preserving elements like its
minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...
, the
Giralda The Giralda ( ) is the bell tower of Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain. It was built as the minaret for the Great Mosque of Seville in al-Andalus, during the reign of the Almohad dynasty, with a Renaissance-style belfry added by the Catholics ...
). For example, even though the proportions of the prayer hall are much reduced, the central aisle that leads from the courtyard to the
mihrab ''Mihrab'' (, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "''qibla'' wall". ...
in the qibla wall and the aisle that runs along the qibla wall are emphasized architecturally in their width and decoration, a standard feature of classic Moroccan and Andalusian mosques sometimes referred to as a "T-plan" or "T-type" (because the two aisles together form a "T" shape on the floor plan).


Decoration of the interior

Like most Almohad mosques, the mosque is relatively austere and much of its aesthetic effect inside is achieved by the rhythmic repetition of arches in the courtyard and prayer hall. The arches themselves vary slightly in shape and look. Most are
horseshoe arch The horseshoe arch (; ), also called the Moorish arch and the keyhole arch, is a type of arch in which the circular curve is continued below the horizontal line of its diameter, so that the opening at the bottom of the arch is narrower than the ar ...
es, with many of them embellished slightly by the carved outlines of pointed or polylobed arches around them. Some of the arches (around the mihrab, for example), are more elaborate polylobed and " lambrequin" (
muqarnas Muqarnas (), also known in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe (from ), is a form of three-dimensional decoration in Islamic architecture in which rows or tiers of niche-like elements are projected over others below. It is an archetypal form of I ...
-shaped) arches, all commonly found in
Moorish architecture Moorish architecture is a style within Islamic architecture that developed in the western Islamic world, including al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula) and what is now Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia (part of the Maghreb). Scholarly references on Is ...
. Some of the pillars of the arches also feature small
engaged column An engaged column is an architectural element in which a column is embedded in a wall and partly projecting from the surface of the wall, which may or may not carry a partial structural load. Sometimes defined as semi- or three-quarter detached ...
s with ornate
capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...
from the Almohad and Saadian periods. Additionally, in the outer aisles of the mosque (including the galleries around the courtyard) the wall-space around the arches is marked by bands and lines of stucco carved with geometric and arabesque patterns, very similar to those found in the Mouassine Mosque and Bab Doukkala Mosque from the Saadian period.


The ''mihrab'' area

The most decorated area is that around the ''
mihrab ''Mihrab'' (, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "''qibla'' wall". ...
'' (a niche in the qibla wall symbolizing the direction of prayer). This section, which was rebuilt/restored in the late 16th century (Saadian period), likely still preserves the model and layout from the Almohad era and resembles the mihrab of important Almohad mosques like the one at Tin Mal. However, the stucco decoration that covers the wall around the mihrab is very similar to the decoration of mihrabs of Saadian buildings like the
Ben Youssef Madrasa The Ben Youssef Madrasa (; also transliterated as Bin Yusuf or Ibn Yusuf Madrasa) is an Islamic madrasa (college) in Marrakesh, Morocco. The madrasa is named after the adjacent Ben Youssef Mosque, and was commissioned in 1564–65 CE by the Saa ...
and the Bab Doukkala Mosque, and thus likely dates from the Saadian restoration. This decoration features elaborate arabesques in
high relief High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...
, with pinecones and seashells featured among the decorative repertoire. A prominent inscription in
kufic The Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script, that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts ...
Arabic features the ''
basmala The (; also known by its opening words ; , "In the name of God in Islam, God") is the titular name of the Islamic phrase “In the name of God in Islam, God, Rahman (name), the Most Gracious, Rahim, the Most Merciful” (, ). It is one of ...
'' and a passage from the
Qur'anic The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
surah A ''surah'' (; ; ) is an Arabic word meaning 'chapter' in the Quran. There are 114 ''suwar'' in the Quran, each divided into ayah, verses (). The ''suwar'' are of unequal length; the shortest ''surah'' (al-Kawthar) has only three verses, while ...
An-Nur An-Nur () is the List of chapters in the Quran, 24th chapter of the Quran with 64 verse (poetry), verses. The surah takes its name, An Nur, from verse 35. Summary *1 This Surah, chapter Waḥy, revealed from Jannah, heaven *2-3 Law relating t ...
. Below the level of the stucco decoration, twelve engaged columns of jasper and marble with carved capitals are incorporated into the ''mihrab'' area, including four into the sides of the ''mihrab'' opening. Six of the capitals, topping the columns furthest from the ''mihrab'' arch, are made of either stucco or stone and were carved in the Almohad period. The six capitals inside or closest to the ''mihrab'' are carved in white marble and are spolia from the
Umayyad period The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member ...
of al-Andalus, most likely brought here during the Almohad construction. On either side of the mihrab are two doors giving access to small chambers, one of which was used to store the wooden ''
minbar A minbar (; sometimes romanized as ''mimber'') is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam (leader of prayers) stands to deliver sermons (, ''khutbah''). It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and le ...
'' (a ceremonial pulpit). Above and right in front of the mihrab is a large square cupola filled with a dome of finely carved and painted
muqarnas Muqarnas (), also known in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe (from ), is a form of three-dimensional decoration in Islamic architecture in which rows or tiers of niche-like elements are projected over others below. It is an archetypal form of I ...
(stalactite or honeycomb-like geometric sculpture). Similar cupolas stand above either end of the qibla aisle (i.e. at the southwestern and southeastern corners of the building). Inside the mihrab niche itself is another small dome of muqarnas. The wooden ceilings elsewhere in the mosque are in an ''
artesonado Artesonado or Spanish ceiling is a term for "a type of intricately joined wooden ceiling in which supplementary laths are interlaced into the rafters supporting the roof to form decorative geometric patterns",Maldonado, Basilio Pavón, "Artesonado ...
'' style typical of Moroccan and Moorish architecture. These cupolas and ceilings almost certainly all date from post-Almohad restorations.


The ''minbar''

Much like the minbar at the Koutoubia Mosque, the minbar of the Kasbah Mosque originally emerged from behind the doors and moved forward on its own with the help of an unknown mechanism. This mechanism was gone, or no longer functional, by the end of the 16th century. The minbar itself, which has suffered over time but is still present today, is smaller but very similar in style to the famous
Almoravid The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almo ...
minbar of the Kutubiyya Mosque which was crafted earlier that century in Cordoba. It was quite likely made by Andalucian craftsman too, or by Moroccan craftsmen following in the same tradition, and was commissioned by Yaqub al-Mansur, who likely wished to emulate the earlier Almoravid minbar. The minbar is smaller than its famous predecessor (measuring high, long, and wide) but also displays remarkable artistic quality. The minbar is made of wood (including
ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...
and other expensive woods), is decorated via a mix of
marquetry Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of wood veneer, veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns or designs. The technique may be applied to case furn ...
and inlaid carved decoration, just like its famous predecessor. The main decorative pattern along its major surfaces on either side is centered around eight-pointed stars, from which bands of decorated with ivory and bone inlay then interweave and repeat the same pattern across the rest of the surface. The spaces between these bands form other geometric shapes which are filled with wood panels of intricately carved
arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foliate ...
s.


Qibla orientation of the mosque

The mosque, like other Almohad and medieval mosques in the early western Islamic world, is not actually oriented towards the "true" ''
qibla The qibla () is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to ...
'' used today (i.e. the direction of the shortest distance to the
Kaaba The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and Holiest sites in Islam, holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Sa ...
in
Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
). Its qibla is oriented towards the south with an
azimuth An azimuth (; from ) is the horizontal angle from a cardinal direction, most commonly north, in a local or observer-centric spherical coordinate system. Mathematically, the relative position vector from an observer ( origin) to a point ...
(from the
true north True north is the direction along Earth's surface towards the place where the imaginary rotational axis of the Earth intersects the surface of the Earth on its Northern Hemisphere, northern half, the True North Pole. True south is the direction ...
) of 159 degrees, whereas the true qibla, seen in modern mosques, is 91 degrees (towards the
east East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
). This is due to historical debates about the direction of the qibla in far western Islamic lands like Morocco and al-Andalus; as a result, the qibla orientation of Marrakesh's mosques varies depending on the historical period in which they were built.


See also

*
List of mosques in Morocco This is a list of mosques in Morocco. According to the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in 2016, there are around 41,755 mosques in Morocco, of which 16,489 are Jama Masjids, and 10,061 are specifically designated as culturally significant. ...


Notes


References


External links


3D reconstruction of the Almohad mosque by Almenara Blanca
showing the hypothesized original form of the mosque according to Inigo Almela
Masjid Mawlay al-Yazid
(Moulay al-Yazid Mosque) at ''ArchNet''; includes further pictures of mosque interior. {{Marrakesh Mosques in Marrakesh 12th-century mosques in Africa 12th-century establishments in Morocco Almohad architecture