DK Travel : Marrakech : Koutoubia Mosque

Koutoubia Mosque

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Its minaret is the city’s pre-eminent monument, towering above all else and has always been the first visible sign of Marrakech for travellers approaching from afar. This is wholly fitting, because the mosque is not only the city’s main place of worship, it is also one of the city’s oldest buildings, dating back to the 12th century, not long after Marrakech was founded. The designer of the Koutoubia minaret went on to create Tour Hassan in the Moroccan capital, Rabat and the tower of the Giralda in Seville. Unfortunately, as with nearly all mosques and shrines in Morocco, non-Muslims are not permitted to enter the Koutoubia.
Although access is denied to non-Muslims, one of the doors on the east wall is always open and you can peer through for a view of the impressive main prayer hall and its seemingly endless arcades of horseshoe arches. Pizzeria Venezia , which is just across the road from the Koutoubia, has a rooftop terrace that offers excellent views of the mosque and minaret. More on Islam and the regulations for visiting mosques. More on the elements of Moroccan architecture.

Top 10 Features

1. Mosque of the Booksellers

The Koutoubia was built in 1158. Its name means the Mosque of the Booksellers, which is a reference to a small market that once existed in the neighbourhood, where worshippers could buy copies of religious tracts.
2. Minaret

2. Minaret

The purpose of a minaret is to provide a high platform from which the muezzin can make the five-times-daily call to prayer. Rather than a staircase, the Koutoubia’s towering minaret has a spiralling ramp wide enough for a horse to be ridden to the top.
3. The minaret decoration

3. The minaret decoration

Originally the whole minaret was encased in tiles and carved stucco, but now only two shallow bands of blue ceramics remain.
4. The mosque plan

4. The mosque plan

The mosque is rectangular in plan. The relatively plain main east entrance leads to a vast prayer hall with its eight bays and horseshoe arches. North of the prayer hall is a courtyard with fountains and trees.
5. Prayer times

Exact times of daily prayer change with the seasons, but are observed pre-dawn, noon, late afternoon, sunset and late evening, as indicated by the muezzin. The most important prayers of the week are those at noon on Friday.
6. Ruins of the Almohad Mosque

6. Ruins of the Almohad Mosque

Next to the Koutoubia are the remains of an earlier mosque, circa 1147. The bases of the prayer hall’s columns, secured behind railings, are clearly visible. This mosque collapsed during an earthquake in 1775.
7. Dar El Hajar

Two glass-roofed wells on the piazza allow visitors to view the buried remains of the Dar El Hajar, a fortress built by the Almoravids. It was destroyed when the Almohads captured the city.
8. Koubba Lalla Zohra

8. Koubba Lalla Zohra

This white tomb houses the body of Lalla Zohra – a slave’s daughter who transformed into a dove each night.
9. Koutoubia Gardens

9. Koutoubia Gardens

South of the mosque is a garden with a mix of palms and deciduous trees, topiary hedges and colourful roses.
10. Tomb of Yousef Ben Tachfine

Just north of the mosque, glimpsed through a locked gate, is a walled area containing the crenulated mausoleum of Yousef Ben Tachfine, tribal leader of the Almoravids, and the man credited with the founding of Marrakech.

Practical Information

Although access is denied to non-Muslims, one of the doors on the east wall is always open and you can peer through for a view of the impressive main prayer hall and its seemingly endless arcades of horseshoe arches. Pizzeria Venezia , which is just across the road from the Koutoubia, has a rooftop terrace that offers excellent views of the mosque and minaret. Avenue Bab Jedid, Medina Mosque: Open only during prayer times ; closed to all non-Muslims Gardens: free entry to both Muslims and non-Muslims