Moroccan architecture

[7] These mostly rural regions are marked by numerous kasbahs (fortresses) and ksour (fortified villages) shaped by local geography and social structures, of which one of the most famous is Ait Benhaddou.

[23] The arrival of Islam was extremely significant as it developed a new set of societal norms (although some of them were familiar to Judeo-Christian societies) and institutions which therefore shaped, to some extent, the types of buildings being built and the aesthetic or spiritual values that guided their design.

[19][28] In this early period Morocco also absorbed waves of immigrants from Tunisia and al-Andalus (Muslim-ruled Spain and Portugal), who brought in cultural and artistic influences from their home countries.

[23][1] The earliest well-known Islamic-era monuments in Morocco, such as the al-Qarawiyyin and Andalusiyyin mosques in Fes, were built in the hypostyle form and made early use of the horseshoe or "Moorish" arch.

[29][2][31]: 126 The collapse of the Cordoban caliphate in the early 11th century was followed by the significant advance of Christian kingdoms into Muslim al-Andalus and the rise of major Berber empires in Morocco.

The Almoravids adopted the architectural developments of al-Andalus, such as the complex interlacing arches of the Great Mosque in Cordoba and of the Aljaferia palace in Zaragoza, while also introducing new ornamental techniques from the east such as muqarnas ("stalactite" or "honeycomb" carvings).

Later known as Fes Jdid, this new fortified citadel had a set of double walls for defense, a new Grand Mosque, a vast royal garden to the north known as el-Mosara, residences for government officials, and barracks for military garrisons.

[2]: 421–422 [42][38]: 194  The Saadians, especially under the sultans Abdallah al-Ghalib and Ahmad al-Mansur, were extensive builders and benefitted from great economic resources at the height of their power in the late 16th century.

[38] Moulay Isma'il is also notable for having built a vast imperial palace complex – similar to previous palace-citadels but on a grander scale than before – in Meknes, where the remains of his monumental structures can still be seen today.

[45][4] In 1765 Sultan Mohammed Ben Abdallah (Moulay Ismail's grandson) started the construction of a new port city called Essaouira (formerly Mogador), located along the Atlantic coast as close as possible to his capital at Marrakesh, to which he tried to move and restrict European trade.

Notable examples include the civic buildings of Muhammad V Square (Place Mohammed V), the Cathedral of Sacré-Coeur, the Art Deco-style Cinéma Rialto, the Neo-Moorish-style Mahkamat al-Pasha in the Habous district.

In some cases, international architects were recruited to design Moroccan-style buildings for major royal projects such as the Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat and the massive Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca.

[2]: 163–164 [5] Lastly, another major legacy of Greco-Roman heritage was the continuation and proliferation of public bathhouses, known as hammams, across the Islamic world – including Morocco – which were closely based on Roman thermae and took on added social roles.

[68][69] This aniconism in Islamic culture caused artists to explore non-figural art, and created a general aesthetic shift toward mathematically-based decoration, such as geometric patterns, as well as other relatively abstract motifs like arabesques.

Among other examples, it was the early Arab exiles from Cordoba who gave the Andalusiyyin quarter of Fes its name[28] and it was Andalusi refugees in the 16th century who rebuilt and expanded the northern city of Tétouan.

[4] The period of the Umayyad Emirate and Caliphate in Cordoba, which marked the peak of Muslim power in Al-Andalus, was an especially crucial era which saw the construction of some of the region's most important early Islamic monuments.

[7] Because the relevant structures are made of rammed earth or mud-brick, which requires regular maintenance for preservation, the existing examples can rarely be dated reliably past the 19th or even 20th centuries.

[92] In turn, French architects constructed buildings in the new cities that conformed to modern European functions and layouts but whose appearance was heavily blended with local Moroccan decorative motifs, resulting in a Mauresque[11] or Neo-Moorish-style architecture.

[89] In some cases, the French also inserted Moroccan-looking structures in the fabric of the old cities, such as the Bab Bou Jeloud gate in Fes (completed in 1913[97]) and the nearby Collège Moulay Idriss (opened in 1914).

[3] This type of construction required consistent maintenance and upkeep, as the materials are relatively permeable and are more easily eroded by rain over time; in parts of Morocco, (especially near the Sahara) kasbahs and other structures made with a less durable composition (typically lacking lime) can begin to crumble apart in less than a couple of decades after they've been abandoned.

Many buildings such as mosques and mausoleums have sloped wood-frame or artesonado-like ceilings, known locally as berchla or bershla,[38][107] often visually enhanced by the use of geometric patterns in their arrangement, sculpting, and painted decoration.

[4][2]Wood generally came from Moroccan cedar trees,[38][3][31] still highly valued today, which once grew abundantly on mountain slopes across the country but are now partly endangered and limited to forests of the Middle Atlas.

[3][2] This motif, typically called sebka (meaning "net"),[81]: 80 [111] is believed by some scholars to have originated with the large interlacing arches in the 10th-century extension of the Great Mosque of Cordoba by Caliph al-Hakam II.

One common version, called darj wa ktaf ("step and shoulder") by Moroccan craftsmen, makes use of alternating straight and curved lines which cross each other on their symmetrical axes, forming a motif that looks roughly like a fleur-de-lys or palmette shape.

In the western Islamic world they were particularly dynamic and were used, among other examples, to enhance entire vaulted ceilings, fill in certain vertical transitions between different architectural elements, and even to highlight the presence of windows on otherwise flat surfaces.

[86]: 36–39  Salima Naji, a Moroccan architect and author on Berber architecture, notes that these more linear decorations, although more complex, lack the balance and rigorous composition of older motifs.

[2]: 316  The cold, warm, and hot rooms were usually vaulted or domed chambers without windows, designed to keep steam from escaping, but partially lit thanks to small holes in the ceiling which could be covered by ceramic or coloured glass.

[128][106][28] Waterwheels were also used to lift water from these canals and into aqueducts to bring them even further, such as the enormous noria, with a diameter of 26 meters, built by the Marinids to supply their Royal Gardens to the north of Fes el-Jdid.

[4] The Kasbah of Telouet, also built by the Glaoui clan and only partly preserved today, is another notable example of a 20th-century palace constructed with traditional methods, but located in a rural mountain town.

[7][87] The traditional tighremt in the countryside ranges in size from a small fortified farmhouse to a large dominant structure placed on high ground, intended to assert the power of a local ruler or governor.

Volubilis , founded in the 3rd century BC and abandoned in the 11th century
The 10th-century minaret of the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque , in Fes (seen through the arches of the later 16th-century Saadian pavilions)
Interior of the Almoravid Qubba in Marrakesh (early 12th century).
The minaret of the Almohad Kutubiyya Mosque , Marrakesh (12th century)
The courtyard of the Bou Inania Madrasa in Fes, built by the Marinids in the 14th century
The Chamber of the Twelve Columns in the Saadian Tombs (16th century), Marrakesh
Bab Mansour , the ceremonial main gate of the Kasbah of Moulay Isma'il in Meknes (early 18th century)
A carved and painted wooden ceiling in the Bahia Palace (late 19th to early 20th century)
The headquarters of Bank al-Maghrib in Rabat, completed in 1930 under French colonial rule , with Mauresque ( Neo-Moorish ) flourishes
The new extension to the Marrakesh Menara Airport , completed in 2008
The courtyard ( sahn ) of the Great Mosque of Kairouan, in present-day Tunisia , founded in 670. Kairouan was one of the centers of power and culture in early Islamic North Africa. [ 30 ]
The horseshoe arches and interlacing arches of the Great Mosque of Cordoba in Spain. Started in 785 and expanded up to the 10th century, the mosque had great influence over subsequent architecture in the region.
Interior of the Kasbah Amridil in Skoura , a restored example of an oasis kasbah , originally built in the 17th century [ 84 ]
Avenue Mohammed V in Rabat, an example of 20th-century architecture and urban planning introduced during the French occupation [ 89 ]
Bab Bou Jeloud in Fes, a "Moorish"-style gate built by the French in 1913 at the entrance to the old city
General example of rammed earth (pisé) wall being built (with metal instead of wooden scaffolding)
Example of restored (left) versus unrestored (right) section of pisé wall in Fes el-Bali
The surface of the 12th-century Kutubiyya minaret: the use of rubble masonry is visible, as are the faint remains of plaster, with painted decoration, which once covered it.
Example of carved stucco with calligraphic decoration in the Bou Inania Madrasa of Fes
Close-up of the 12th-century bronze overlays on Bab al-Gna'iz , one of the doorways of the Qarawiyyin Mosque
View of the upper walls and turrets of the Kasbah Amridil in Skoura, decorated with geometric motifs
The minaret and rooftop of the 14th-century Chrabliyin Mosque in Fes
The sahn (courtyard) of the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fes
A traditional synagogue interior in Sefrou
The mausoleum of Moulay Idris II in Fes
Interior of the 18th-century Funduq al-Najjariyyin (Fondouk Nejjarine) in Fes
The dome of a hammam room in the Bahia Palace of Marrakesh
The 16th-century Mouassine Fountain in Marrakesh, attached to the Mouassine Mosque
A khettara emerging at the surface near Rissani ( Tafilalt region)
A riad garden in the 19th-century Bahia Palace of Marrakesh
Dar Cherifa , a restored Saadian-era house in Marrakesh
Entrance to the Royal Palace ( Dar al-Makhzen ) in Rabat
Entrance to the Kasbah of Tangier
Kasbah Taourirt in Ouarzazate , an example of tighremt architecture with exterior geometric decoration
An agadir in the Anti-Atlas region of Morocco
The Sqala of the Port in Essaouira