Bab Agnaou
The Bab Agnaou ( Arabic باب اكناو) is the most important historical gateway in Marrakech and an important testimony to Moorish architecture . The name probably means something like the "black gate" or "gate of the blacks".
location
The Bab Agnaou forms the border between the old town ( medina ) of Marrakech and the former palace and government district ( kasbah ) ; So it had no defense tasks to fulfill, but was primarily meant to be representative. In its neighborhood are the Saadian tombs and the much simpler Bab er Robb city gate .
history
The dating of the gatehouse is controversial in research: Some archaeologists and architectural historians favor a formation shortly after the capture of Marrakech (1147) under the first Almohad - Sultan and self-proclaimed caliph Abd al-Mu'min (reigned 1130-1163.); others see his grandson Yaʿqūb al-Mansūr (reigned 1184–1199) as the client and therefore advocate a date of origin around the year 1195, which would put it closer to the gates of Rabat (see below) in terms of time and art . In the 18th century, the actual passage arch under Sultan Mulai Muhammad III. scaled down.
Architecture and decor
The core building of Bab Agnaou, which protrudes slightly from the surrounding rammed earth wall and is angled inside, is made of bricks ; What is visible, however, is only the cladding made of stone with inscriptions and a - later added - lighter and crenellated ornamentation. The two upper pairs of pillars should each end with a kind of console , both of which were either not completed or were later destroyed. In the spandrels to the left and right of the horseshoe-shaped passage framed by an alfiz in the upper part, there are vegetal tendrils and the shell ornaments so typical of the Moorish style, which can be associated with “water”, “life force” and even “ paradise ” . The inner and outer arches show a panel decoration; the two middle arches - separated from one another in depth - are adorned with multi-pass arches, of which the outer one is divided into two and permanently overlaps the neighboring arch .
See also
- Bab des Oudaïas , Rabat
- Bab er Rouah , Rabat
literature
- Arnold Betten: Morocco. Antiquity, Berber Traditions and Islam - History, Art and Culture in the Maghreb. DuMont, Ostfildern 2012, ISBN 978-3-7701-3935-4 , pp. 277ff.
Web links
- Bab Agnaou - Photo + Info (Archnet, English)
Coordinates: 31 ° 37 ′ 2.6 ″ N , 7 ° 59 ′ 26.3 ″ W.