Al-Mansur mosque (Marrakech)
The mosque al-Mansur (Masǧid al-Manṣūr, also: al-Masǧid al-Manṣūrī al-Muwaḥḥidī) is an Almohad mosque in Marrakech , which is also known as the "Kasbah Mosque".
history
The mosque was built under the Almohad ruler Yaʿqūb al-Mansūr in the years 1184 to 1199 in the Kasbah district of Marrakech. Restored by the Saadians in the 16th century and by the Alawids in the 18th century , some of which were also rebuilt, the original character remained intact.
architecture
The basic dimensions of the mosque are 76 × 71 meters. It is therefore only slightly smaller in its dimensions than the Koutoubia Mosque , which is only about a kilometer away, but which could accommodate significantly more people, because the interior of the Kasbah Mosque is essentially characterized by five courtyards with fountains; the actual prayer hall takes up only a small part (approx. 30%) of the total area.
The minaret , made of stone and largely undivided, rises in the southwest corner of the mosque. Its characteristic diamond pattern, which covers all four sides of the tower equally, develops - similar to the upper part of the Hassan Tower in Rabat - from incessantly overlapping arches that rest on small columns. The tower shaft ends in a small tile mosaic with a crenellated wreath running around it - elements that are repeated in the decor of the lantern .
meaning
With its room layout, which is unique in Morocco, the mosque only feigns size. When it was built, it was intended as a mosque for the court officials and senior military officers who lived with their families and servants in the Kasbah district of Marrakech. The - potentially infinite - diamond pattern of the tower became the model for many minarets in the Maghreb.
literature
- Arnold Betten: Morocco. Antiquity, Berber Traditions and Islam - History, Art and Culture in the Maghreb. DuMont, Ostfildern 2009, p. 280f, ISBN 978-3-7701-3935-4
Web links
- Yaqub al-Mansur Mosque. ArchNet
Coordinates: 31 ° 37 ′ 3.4 ″ N , 7 ° 59 ′ 20 ″ W.