Marrakech - La
Koutoubia
The Koutoubia Mosque is the largest mosque in Marrakech,
Morocco. The minaret was completed under the reign of the Almohad
Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur (1184-1199) and was used as the model for
the Giralda of Seville and for the Hassan Tower of
Rabat.
The name is derived from the Arabic al-Koutoubiyyin for
librarian, since it used to be surrounded by sellers of
manuscripts. It is considered the ultimate structure of its kind.
The tower is 69 m (221 ft) in height and has a lateral length of
12.8 m (41 ft). Six rooms (one above the other) constitute the
interior; leading around them is a ramp by way of which the muezzin
could ride up to the balcony. It is built in a traditional Almohad
style and the tower is adorned with four copper globes.
According to legend, the globes were originally made of
pure gold, and there were once supposed to have been only three
globes. The fourth globe was donated by the wife of Yaqub el-Mansur
as compensation for her failure to keep the fast for one day during
the month of Ramadan. She had her golden jewelry melted down to
flab the fourth globe.
The minaret of the Koutoubia was the model for the minaret
of the Giralda mosque in Seville which in its turn has influenced
thousands of church towers in Spain and Eastern Europe.