The district of the Medina

The refinement and the urban specificity of the medina rise directly from the total virginity of the ground on which it was set up at the 11th century. Articulated around a military camping, Qsar El Hajar, and by a market, it was increased by a kasbah at the 12th century in order to protect it from the repeated attacks of the Berber tribes of the plain of Haouz, thus contributing to sit Almoravide hegemony durably.

The Koutoubia mosque, or mosque of the booksellers, was begun under the Berber dynasty from Almoravides in 1120, but was deeply altered starting from 1162 pennies the emir Almohade Abu Yusuf Yaqub Al-Mansur, and became one of the buildings most characteristic of this style. Its name comes owing to the fact that it was located in the souk of the merchants of manuscripts.

The mosque of the booksellers is organized on a plan in T. This tradition exists since the construction of the mosque of Kairouan to the ix ^E century, and is also found in Spain. It acts by way of a hypostyle Arab plan, i.e. comprising a large court surrounded by a gantry and a room of prayer to columns. The naves are perpendicular to the wall of qibla, that of the center being broader; and the span which skirts the wall qibli is also magnified, which forms one T, from where the name. The mihrab is treated like a very major niche, and the minaret, high of 69 m, is of square section, according to the tradition of the Moslem occident.

The Almohade dynasty, which adhered to the rite malikite, sponsored a rather austere architecture, reflecting a certain asceticism. The Koutoubia mosque does not make exception: its sobriety is noticed by its examination. The arcs employed can be exceeded or multifoil, but remain naked.

The minaret later (completion in 1196), and is decorated more: one notices in particular an important work of interlaced arcs (sebka). It is surmounted by three gilded copper balls which would symbolize the terrestrial world, the celestial world and the spiritual world. It was useful, inter alia, of model for Giralda of Seville.

The decoration external of the minaret is different on the four faces: painting on coating with ornaments floral and epigraphic, network of interlacing in relief where paintings are intercalated, earthenware stringcourse with white net on turquoise bottom, sometimes intermingled blind arcades. It is built out of schistous sandstone originating in the careers of Guéliz. Admirably proportioned: 12.80 on side for 69 height with the skylight (77 m to the point of the arrow), with a wall external of 2.50 Mr. With the center of the tower, an external core shelters six superimposed rooms. Around this one, a soft inclined slope leads to the covered way. The platform is surrounded by a covered way protected by a balustrade notched from merlons. The skylight, high of 16 m, seems a second minaret posed on the first. It is surmounted by a metal stem at which four gilded balls of decreasing size are fixed, largest being 6 m in diameter. They are made plates of gilded copper rivetted between them.

The mosque of the booksellers preserves splendid a minbar going back to 1137, made in Cordoue for another mosque. As most those of occident, it mobile (on wheels), is composed of various wood turpentines but ivory. The invoice of the decoration, extremely fine, in openworks, would have taken seven years. It presents in particular small arcs stuck the ones to the others which mark emmarchements, and a taste of polychromy is notable there.

The Mouassine fountain is a public fountain built at the time saadienne under the order of the sultan Abdallah el-Ghalib between 1562 and 1563, who is tallest of all the fountains of Marrakech. Located immediately north of the room of ablutions of the mosque, it is of rectangular form and measurement 18.10 m of length and 4.70 m of width and gathers three large feeding troughs covered of vaults and opened on the street by three arcades.

Known in the past under the name of “mosque of El Mansour”, it was rebuilt in 1569 following an explosion, and re-elected “mosque with gold apples” because, according to a legend, the balls of its lantern would have been carried out with the gold of the jewels of the wife of Yacoub El Mansour (which made build Koutoubia).

Long, she 80 meters recognizes herself with her minaret decorated with interlacing in rhombuses of turquoise color, surmounted multicoloured tiles. She is composed of a room of prayer and eleven naves.

The main part of the collections of this regional museum comes from Marrakech and the south and particularly from Tensift, of Under, of the High Atlas, the Anti Atlas, the Outlaw, Tafilalet. It is about homogeneous units of woodworks, jewels of the south, pottery and ceramics, of weapons, costumes and a rich collection of carpet and weavings of the South, and some archaeological parts of which the marble tank of the beginning of the 11th century.

Bert Flint, was a Dutch professor of art history and a traveller fascinated by Morocco and his culture, and this, during more than 40 years. In addition to its collections, the architecture of this residence is of hispano-Moorish type.

Impassioned Moroccan popular arts, Bert Flint joined together a collection including of the musical instruments, the costumes, the jewels, the pieces of furniture, the carpets, the old ustensils and Berber craft industry of art, coming mainly from the valley from Under and of the Saharan area.

Another section of the museum Bert Flint is at Agadir.

It is also characterized by speakers who tell stories or praise the magic merits of products.

Shop El Edrissi

Souk Sebbaghine Bradiaa, n° 16 and 18

The complex in activity during several centuries, was moreover one of the first fountains of the town of Marrakech and thus ensured the water provision of the population and their animals.

The three fountains and the center of ablution were fed by a system of underground galleries (“will khettaras” in Arabic) which finished in a cistern from where interior bronze pipings brought water to the basins.

This monument is also characterized by its arches finely engraved and its ceiling, which refers of this site of the dynasty of the almoravides.

The mausoleum shelters the bodies of about sixty Saadiens, of which Al-Mansour, its successors and his family. The building is composed of three rooms. The most prestigious mausoleum is the room of the twelve columns. This room shelters fall it from the sultan son Ahmed El Mansour. Its cupola out of wooden of worked cedar, and the stuccos are finely worked, the burials are there out of Carrara marble of Italy. This mausoleum constitutes very an good example of decorative art hispano-Moorish.

Outside, are the tombs of the soldiers and servants and a garden of the necropolis.

One of the engraved inscriptions invites the passer by “to drink and look at” (in Arabic “echroub or chouf”).

This fountain saadienne is classified since 1985 world cultural heritage by UNESCO.

The synagog Salat Al Azama (in Hebrew: ביתהכנסתצלאתאלעזמה).