Great Mosque of Taza
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The Great Mosque ( Arabic al-Jāmiʿ al-kabīr , also Jemaa el Kebir ) in Taza is - before the mosque of Tinmal and the Koutoubia mosque in Marrakech - the first Almohad mosque to be built in Morocco .
history
The history of the pillar mosque is closely linked to the rise of the Almohads from southern Morocco in the first half of the 12th century. Around 1140, the warlike Berber tribes united under the Almohads conquered the strategically and historically important mountain fortress and settlement, immediately began to expand it and laid the foundation stone for a mosque, which was expanded under the Merinids towards the end of the 13th century .
architecture
The outer walls of the former accessible from three sides Moscheebaues are made - with small stones mixed - rammed earth ; this construction technique comes from the Berber regions in southern Morocco and is rarely found in the north of the country. In contrast , the minaret , made of broken stone , masonry and bricks , rises in the north-western corner of the mosque; it ends - as has been customary in Morocco since the Almohad period - in a lantern top based on the model of the ancient Pharos of Alexandria . Nowadays, the mosque and minaret are plastered white and the exterior is largely without any decoration.
The central nave and the transept in front of the qibla wall are slightly widened, resulting in a T-shape that can be read in the floor plan, a typical characteristic of Almohad mosques. At the end of the 13th century, the mosque was extended to the east under the Merinids - for this purpose the old qibla wall and mihrab were demolished. The newly built transept received an openwork dome immediately in front of the new mihrab niche, which - along with two similar domes in the Great Mosques of Tlemcen and Fès -el-Jedid - is one of the greatest architectural creations of Islamic art (see web links).
Furnishing
Perhaps because of its remote location, the Great Mosque of Taza still has some typical furnishings from the 13th and 14th centuries:
chandelier
An approximately four-meter-high ceiling chandelier made of ten concentric metal rings with over 500 bowls for oil lamps or candles dates from 1294. Seen from below, the interior decoration of the chandelier is reminiscent of the openwork dome that was created around the same time. (A similar, but somewhat smaller, candlestick has also been preserved in the Kairaouine mosque in Fès.) Two smaller candlesticks - one of which has a core made of a bell stolen in Spain - also belong to the furnishings of the mosque in Taza.
Minbar
A minbar from the Almohadic period , which is no longer in use and in need of restoration, has a rich geometric decoration and the finest inlays made of ivory and other colored woods; it was completed in the Merinid period.
Lattice barrier
In addition, a wooden gate ( anaza ) from the 14th century is important, which marked the transition from the mosque courtyard ( sahn ) to the prayer room and served as an auxiliary mihrab for those praying in the courtyard.
meaning
The Great Mosque of Taza - despite its later extensions - is considered to be the founding building of the Almohad mosque architecture ( Tinmal , Marrakech , Seville , Rabat ). Its minaret is one of the first in the entire Maghreb to have a cubic lantern top instead of the previous dome structure (see Fès, minarets of the Kairaouine and Andalusian mosques). From now on, domes form the architectural end of the lanterns.
The aforementioned openwork dome in the interior could have served as models for two similar constructions in the cathedral of Burgos (Spain), along with two others in the Great Mosques of Tlemcen and Fès-el-Jedid .
The Great Mosque of Taza is - along with the Medina of Taza - since 1995 on the list of candidates for the UNESCO - World Heritage Site .
literature
- Arnold Betten: Morocco. Antiquity, Berber Traditions and Islam - History, Art and Culture in the Maghreb. DuMont, Ostfildern 2009, p. 228f, ISBN 978-3-7701-3935-4 .
Web links
- Great Mosque of Taza - Photos + Info (French)
- Great Mosque of Tlemcen - Photos and information (English)
Coordinates: 34 ° 12 ′ 46 ″ N , 4 ° 1 ′ 7 ″ W.