Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail
| Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail | |
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UNESCO world heritage 
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| Entrance to the funerary mosque |
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| National territory: |
 Morocco
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| Type: | Culture |
| Criteria : | (ii) (iv) |
| Reference No .: | 793 |
| UNESCO region : | Africa |
| History of enrollment | |
| Enrollment: | 1996 (session 20) |
The mausoleum of Moulay Ismail is a funerary mosque and is located within the former palace district (Ville Impériale) of the Alawid sultans in the Moroccan city of Meknes . As part of the historic city of Meknes, the building complex belongs since 1996 to UNESCO - World Heritage Site . Large parts of the structure can also be entered by tourists.
location
The tomb mosque is located about 400 m southeast of Bab Mansour , the entrance gate to the palace city.
history
At the end of the 17th century, Sultan Mulai Ismail (r. 1672–1727) moved the capital of Morocco from Fez to Meknes. To the east of the old town ( medina ) he had a new - albeit unfinished - residential city (Ville Impériale) built, to which the warehouses and stables of Heri es-Souani also belong. The mosque, designed and built by the Moroccan architect Ahmed Eddahbi, was completed in 1703; after his death, Mulai Ismail found his final resting place here in a grave covered by a cenotaph . He is revered by many Moroccans, who see in him the former greatness and importance of the country. After the independence of Morocco (1956), the burial mosque of his predecessor was restored by the then King Mohammed V.
architecture
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From the outside the building is not recognizable as either a mosque or a mausoleum; only a portal decorated with rich stone decoration with a protruding roof and the green glazed roofs visible in the background suggest a religious building. Behind the portal there is an entrance hall with a well basin for the ritual ablution ( wudū ' ) prescribed in the Koran (sura 5,6) before prayer and an unadorned courtyard surrounded by high walls, which - recognizable by the mihrab niche in the Back wall and the tile floor covered with mats below the arcades - can be used as an outside mosque. The square atrium behind it has a much richer wall decoration and a central fountain bowl within a star-shaped floor mosaic; there is also a mihrab niche in the hallway. In an adjoining room richly decorated with colored tile mosaics and whitewashed stucco ornaments is the sultan's cenotaph , which is surrounded by a brass barrier . The two grandfather clocks in the background are said to be gifts from Louis XIV.
In addition to Mulai Ismail, one of his wives and his son Mulai Ahmed al-Dahbi and the Sultan Mulai Abd ar-Rahman (r. 1822-1859) found their final resting place under the actual tomb .
Well basin in the entrance hall
Mosque arcades in the inner courtyard
Mihrab niche
Atrium with fountain bowl
Fountain bowl
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 , p. 165.
Web links
Coordinates: 33 ° 53 ′ 27 " N , 5 ° 33 ′ 47" W.