The Kasbah Palace, also known as Dar al-Makhzen, Sultan's Palace or Governor's Palace and formerly as the Sharifian Palace, is a historical building and museum in the

Kasbah A kasbah (, also ; , , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasbah, qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term in Spanish (), which is derived from the same ...

or citadel of

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

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 ...

. Its site has long been the main seat of political power in Tangier. The current structure was built in the early 18th century as the residence of the city's governor and home for the

Sultan of Morocco This is a list of rulers of Morocco since 789. The common and formal titles of these rulers has varied, depending on the time period. Since 1957, the designation King has been used. The present King of Morocco is Mohammed VI of Morocco, Mohammed ...

when staying in the city, for example Hassan I in 1889. It has been repurposed as a museum since 1922, named the Kasbah Museum of Mediterranean Cultures since renovation in 2016, with the Kasbah Museum Contemporary Art Space added in late 2021.

History

The edifice was built during the reign of sultan

Moulay Ismail Moulay Ismail Ibn Sharif (, – 22 March 1727) was a Sultan of Morocco from 1672 to 1727, as the second ruler of the 'Alawi dynasty. He was the seventh son of Moulay Sharif and was governor of the province of Fez and the north of Morocco from ...

in the early 18th century over the ruins of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

"Upper Castle".. For more up-to-date extensive coverage of the Tangier Kasbah, the Place de la Kasbah specifically, the Dar al-Makhzen zone, Dar Zero, and other adjacent features in this area, see for instance Martin Malcolm Elbl, ''Portuguese Tangier (1471–1662): Colonial Urban Fabric as Cross-Cultural Skeleton'' (Toronto / Peterborough: Baywolf Press, 2013), preceding publications and data such as Martin Malcolm Elbl, "Tangier's Qasba Before the Trace Italienne Citadel of 1558–1566: The 'Virtual' Archaeology of a Vanished Islamic and Portuguese Fortress," ''Portuguese Studies Review'' 17 (2) (2009): 1-45, and various subsequent publications, such as Martin Malcolm Elbl, "Tangier’s ''Domus Praefecti'' (Governor’s House) and Ceuta’s ''Paços Reais'' / ''Paço Velho'' (''Palacio Viejo''): 3D-Modelling Vanished Prestige Dwellings and Cross-Cultural Symbols of Governance," in Martin Malcolm Elbl, ed., ''Encounters in Borderlands: Portugal, Ceuta, and the 'Other Shore (Toronto / Peterborough: Baywolf Press, 2019), 177–242, or most recently, Martin Malcolm Elbl, “ ‘Tunnels Below’ (Dar Zero ~ Tangier): Urban Myths, a German ‘Baron’ from Maryland, and a Very Real Portuguese Citadel," ''Portuguese Studies Review'' 30 (1) (2022): 199-239. The publications (in English) supply abundant references to secondary sources in English, Portuguese, French, and other languages, references to archival documents and primary sources, and references to indispensable graduate theses by diverse scholars. Transcripts of unpublished documents are available in these works, as are many maps, diagrams, and photographs. The large body of data entirely supersedes the 1936 "Tangier" article, clarifies the 'Upper Castle' issue, and addresses numerous other relevant points, setting the Kasbah Palace in very detailed long-run context. Most of the relevant items are accessible on academia.edu (consulted 29 May 2023). See https://utoronto.academia.edu/MartinMalcolmElbl It was constructed by Pasha Ahmad ben Ali al-Rifi, general of the Jaysh al-Rifi and semi-autonomous governor of Tangiers. In 1922, French scholar initiated the structure's transformation into a museum. It was comprehensively renovated in the early 2010s and reopened in 2016.

Description

The building is situated in the eastern part of the Kasbah, on one of the highest points of the city overlooking the

medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

and the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...

. It is centered within two courtyards, which are decorated with wooden ceilings, marble fountains and

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. The elegant marble capitals of the columns in the main courtyard were most likely imported from Italy at the time of construction in the mid-18th century. Dependencies facing the Kasbah's

Mechouar Mechouar or meshwar (; ; ) is a type of location, typically a courtyard within a palace or a public square at the entrance of a palace, in the Maghreb (western North Africa) or in historic al-Andalus (present-day Spain and Portugal). It can serve ...

include a former

Bayt al-mal ''Bayt al-mal'' () is an Arabic term that is translated as "House of money" or "House of wealth". Historically, it was a financial institution responsible for the administration of taxes in Islamic states, particularly in the early Islamic Calip ...

or treasury, created in the late 18th century, and prisons.

Museum of Mediterranean Cultures

The former reception spaces and living quarters are now used by the Museum of Mediterranean Cultures (), displaying works of art from all over Morocco, amongst which are firearms decorated with marquetry, carpets, silks from Fez, and manuscripts. The Museum of Antiquities now occupies the former kitchen. It houses finds from ancient Roman sites as Lixus, Cotta and

Volubilis Volubilis (; ; ) is a partly excavated Berber-Roman city in Morocco, situated near the city of Meknes, that may have been the capital of the Kingdom of Mauretania, at least from the time of King Juba II. Before Volubilis, the capital of the kin ...

, as well as a life-size Carthaginian tomb and finds from the Tangier region from prehistory until the Middle Ages. The museum's Contemporary Art Space opened in late 2021 in the palace's former prison facing the

, which had remained in use until the early 1970s.

Gallery

File:Morocco Tangier Tribunal.jpg, Former tribunal (left) and treasury (right) outside the Kasbah Palace File:La Kasbah de Tanger 01.jpg, Museum entrance File:Kasbah Museum of Tangier 17092021 001.jpg, Roman mosaic File:Tangier city museum 9.jpg, Doorway File:Kasbah de Tanger 6.jpg, Wooden ceiling File:Kasbah Museum Gardens (39030131300).jpg, Palace garden

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dar El Makhzen, Tangier History museums in Morocco Buildings and structures in Tangier Palaces in Morocco Tourist attractions in Tangier Arab art scene 'Alawi architecture

History

Description

Museum of Mediterranean Cultures

Gallery

See also

Notes