Mouassine

[4][5]: 34  Deverdun notes that another possibility is that the name derives from an Arabic word meaning "knife-makers" or "cutlers", denoting the former presence of craftsmen along the main street of the area when the Jewish community was established there.

Up until the reign of Abdellah El Ghalib Jews were relatively dispersed through the city but the area of Mouassine housed a significant concentration of them and was generally regarded as an ancient Jewish quarter.

[6] When Abdallah El Ghalib came to power in 1557 he used the opportunity to re-landscape Marrakech as a symbol of his authority and part of this was to relocate the Jewish community into the new Mellah area.

[10]The current configuration of Mouassine thus dates back to the Saadian period, and its redevelopment at this time enticed a relatively large number of bourgeois or aristocratic families to build their residences here.

This house, recently restored to reveal its original wood and stucco ornamentation, dates back to the Saadian period but also features decorative motifs from the time of Sultan Moulay Ismail (1672–1727).

The small public square in front of the Mouassine Mosque and fountain.
Aerial view of the Mouassine neighbourhood in the early 20th century. The Mouassine Mosque is visible in the middle right.
Dar Cherifa , a restored Saadian -era house in the Mouassine neighbourhood