Koutoubia: from the Arabic "Al-Kutbiyyine", meaning the double trade of the booksellers-calligraphers, who set up business there when it was built.
The Koutoubia mosque is located facing Djemaa el-Fna square, which has ben declared an oral masterpiece of humanity. A stroll around this square takes one back in time, as if it were a typical medieval square.
It was built between 1147 and 1157 by the Almohads, who tore down the former Almoravid palace to build the mosque on the same site.
The original mosque was subsequently replaced by another, because the quiblah was not correctly oriented towards Mecca.
The two adjoining buildings co-existed for several years. The foundations of the original mosque are still visible today.
The Koutoubia was built using 3 materials:
INSIDE THE MOSQUE
The layout of the mosque is in the shape of a T, which is characteristic of what are known as Maghrebi mosques.
DECORATIVE ELEMENTS, ARCHES
PARTS OF THE MOSQUE
The courtyard or sahan, in the centre of which is a font for ablutions.
The prayer room, which consists of 11 naves/ 17 galleries, separated by pillars with seven-part horseshoe arches.
The qiblah, the wall towards which the faithful face when they pray, on which the mihrab is located.
The mihrab, the niche that indicates the direction of Mecca, is decorated with the following:
The maqsura, the cedarwood compartment that surrounds the mihrab, from where the king attends the prayer ceremonies. The maqsura in the Koutoubia has a hydraulic system that makes it possible to raise or lower the wooden walls, depending on whether or not the king was praying.
The minbar, the pulpit from where the imam reads the Friday prayers. The minbar in the Koutouvia was made in Córdoba during the Almoravid era, for the Ali Ben Yousef mosque. The Almohads transferred it to the Koutoubia mosque. It is considered to be a masterpiece of Islamic art.
The minaret, which is the mosque tower from the top of which the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer.
CISTERNS
There are two cisterns in the courtyard of the original mosque, probably of Almoravid origin. They are made of bricks and topped with two domes, which made it possible for the water from the roofs to be collected for abolutions during services. Along with the khettara network, they also functioned as a water supply source. These hydraulic works are of Iranian origin.
The minaret of the Koutoubia was built along with the original mosque. It served as the model for the Giralda in Seville and the Hassan Tower in Rabat.
STRUCTURE
The minaret has a square layout. Each side measures 12.80m, which is equivalent to 20 Almohad cubits.
It is 66m high and 77m to the top of the dome, where the jamur starts. It is five times as high as it is wide.
The tower has practically no foundations. 0.80 m on one side and 1.20 m on the other. It is built on top of a rock.
The minaret is entirely made of red sandstone from the Gueliz mountain, which lends its name to the new city of Marrakech.
Masonry walls coated with limestone. False joins are used on ashlars.
DECORATIVE ELEMENTS
The delicately carved decoration on the upper part contrasts with the sobriety of the base.
Each side of the minaret has different ornamentation, but the following elements are common to all:
Marrakech is one of the most prestigious imperial capitals of Morocco. So great was its prestige that its name was used to designate the whole country, Morocco. It was the capital city of the Almoravid and Almohad empires.
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
It is located half-way between the north and the south, the Sahara and the ocean.
Located on the Haouz depression, it was built on a salt marsh.
The south borders on the Atlas mountains and the north and east, on the Jbilet range.
Three rivers surround the city: the Tensif, the Issil and the Nfiss.
THE MEDINA IN THE AMORAVID AND ALMOHAD PERIODS
ALMORAVIDS, THE FOUNDERS (11th - 12th CENTURIES)
Almoravid: from the Arabic "Morabitun", warrior monks, Berbers from the Sahara.
URBAN PLANNING
The Almoravids founded Marrakech in 1060 and did not take long to turn it into the metropolis of an empire that stretched from Algeria to the Atlantic and from the Ebro to the Draa.
In 1106, Ali Ibn Yusuf urbanised the city.
He brought the water down from the mountains using a network of khettara, underground canals.
He paved the streets.
He built the mosque that still bears his name and which became the main pole in the urban agglomeration.
He built a wall around the city, which still stands today.
ART
Under the Almoravid dynasty, the "Spanish-Moorish" style of art developed.
ALMOHADS, THE BUILDERS (12th - 13th CENTURIES)
Almohad: from the Arabic "al-Mowahhidun", the "unitarian", underlining the unity of Allah.
URBAN PLANNING
With the Almohads, Marrakech and its fortified alcazaba became the capital of an empire that reached as far as Poitiers in the north, spanning the entire Maghreb on the east and whole of Subsaharan Africa, as far as present-day Mali, on the south.
Abd el Mumin seized the city in 1147, wiping out all traces of his predecessors.
He built the Koutoubia, a masterpiece of Arabian architecture.
He started the construction of the Agdal Gardens, an immense lush green area inspired by the Andalusian gardens.
Abu Yaqub Youssef continued his work.
He built an immense alcazaba.
In Seville, he commissioned the construction of a minaret that was a replica of the one at the Koutoubia mosque, the Giralda.
Yaqub al-Mansur completed the Koutoubia.
He equipped the city with mosques and palaces.
He also built the Hassan Mosque and Tower in Rabat.
ART
Under the Almohads, a simple, sober style of art flourished, reflecting the austerity preached by the theologians.
Pure, light decorations, limited to simple repetitive geometric motifs. Strength in construction.
Noble lines.
MARRAKECH: THE GARDEN CITY
Until the end of the 19th century, Marrakech was known as the "garden city", because of its huge gardens and the immense palm grove surrounding it.
The majority of the gardens, which are called "agdal", were not just recreational, but actual functioning orchards.
They were equipped with large ponds for irrigation, and pavilions where the monarchs could rest.
Agdal Bahmed is part of the grounds of the Bahia palace, which has all but disappeared.
Agdal Gardens, with 600 ha. of olive and orange trees.
They have been included on the world heritage list.
Menara Garden, with 150 ha. of olive trees. This is one of the largest olive orchards in the city.
Around the Koutoubia, a series of gardens have been conserved, from where it is possible to view the minaret from a great distance.
