Dar Moulay Ali

Dar Moulay Ali is a historic residence and riad in Marrakesh, Morocco. It is located right next to the Kutubiyya Mosque. It currently houses the French consulate.

1. History

The residence was built in the 1820s, during the reign of Sultan Moulay Abd ar-Rahman, by Sulayman as-Siyadmi, a qaid of the Chiadma tribe. Moulay Abd ar-Rahman's son and successor, Muhammad IV, confiscated the residence and gifted it to his brother Ali (Moulay Ali), after whom the residence is now named. During the French Protectorate in Morocco (1912-1956), it was used as the residence of various military officials. Today it remains in use as the official office and residence of the French consulate. The building was most recently restored in 2015.

1. Architecture

The residence is located directly east of the Kutubiyya Mosque, between the mosque and the main road today. It consists of a large house centered around a small courtyard garden, off which ornate salons opened. The house was decorated with painted arabesque motifs, zellij tilework, and epigraphic Arabic inscriptions. An imposing menzeh or viewing pavilion originally stood on its southwestern side, next to the mosque, but this was demolished in the 1920s. The residence's original main entrance was on its northeast side, where a large rectangular riad garden (a garden divided into four parts by two crossing paths, with a central fountain at the intersection of the paths) led up to a decorated porch in front of the entrance doorway. The riad garden had two small outer entrances on its east side but the main entrance to the compound was through another courtyard on its south side. This courtyard and the riad garden, however, were mostly demolished in the 20th century when the main road on its east side was enlarged, although traces of it have been preserved and can be seen outside the present-day walls of the residence. An even larger garden park was stretched out on the south side of the residence and still exists today.

1. See also

French Protectorate Residence, Rabat

1. References

Nearby Places View Menu

Kutubiyya Mosque

The Kutubiyya Mosque or Koutoubia Mosque (Arabic: جامع الكتبية Arabic pronunciation: [ˈdʒaːmiʕu‿lkutuˈbijːa(h)]) is the largest mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco. It is located in the southwest medina quarter of Marrakesh, near the Jemaa el-Fnaa market place, and is flanked by large gardens. The mosque was founded in 1147 by the Almohad caliph Abd al-Mu'min right after he conquered Marrakesh from the Almoravids. A second version of the mosque was entirely rebuilt by Abd al-Mu'min around 1158, with Ya'qub al-Mansur possibly finalizing construction of the minaret around 1195. This second mosque is the structure that stands today. It is an important example of Almohad architecture and of Moroccan mosque architecture generally. The minaret tower, 77 metres (253 ft) in height, is decorated with varying geometric arch motifs and topped by a spire and metal orbs. It likely inspired other buildings such as the Giralda of Seville and the Hassan Tower of Rabat, which were built shortly after in the same era. The minaret is also considered an important landmark and symbol of Marrakesh.

Landmark Mosque

Jemaa el-Fnaa

Jemaa el-Fnaa (Arabic: ساحة جامع الفناء, romanized: Sāḥat Jāmiʾ al-Fanā), also Jemaa el-Fna, Djema el-Fna or Djemaa el-Fnaa, is a square and market place in the medina quarter (old city) of Marrakesh, Morocco. It remains the main square of Marrakesh, used by locals and tourists.

Event Landmark

2011 Marrakesh bombing

The 2011 Marrakesh bombing was a domestic terrorist bombing of the Argana Cafe in Jemaa el-Fnaa, Marrakesh, Morocco, on April 28, 2011. A lone terrorist, Adil El-Atmani, planted two homemade pressure cooker bombs hidden inside of a backpack at the cafe and detonated them at 11:50 a.m., killing 17 and injuring 25. Many of the dead were tourists, including a group of French students. El-Atmani, a 25 year-old shoe salesman, pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, who denied involvement in the attack. He was arrested six days later after a SIM card registered under his name was found in what remained of the bomb. During questioning, he said that he learned bomb-making on the Internet. A letter to the French government found on his laptop ordered the withdrawal of French troops in the Middle East, threatening to "attack targets in the heart of France" if his order was not fulfilled within the twenty days following the attack. Adil El-Atmani was sentenced to death for the attack by an anti-terrorism court in Salé. He is awaiting execution at Moul El Bergui central prison in Safi. He was put in solitary confinement in 2017 after attempting to kill his cellmate.

Landmark

Mosque of the Cat

The Mosque of the Cat (Arabic: مسجد القطة, romanized: masjid al-qiṭṭa; or also جامع القطة) is a historic mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco. It is also identified in some scholarly sources as the Moulay al-Ksour Mosque or Mawlā al-Qṣūr Mosque. The mosque is located in the Ksour neighbourhood on a major souk street, Souk Laksour, near the street's entrance in the Bab Ftouh area just north of Jemaa el-Fnaa. The mosque was founded by a student of Abu al-Abbas as-Sabti, a 12th-century Muslim saint or Sufi figure. The mosque's name derives from a traditional story in which the founder's cat was recruited to eliminate a rat infestation in the house of a vizier. The building was renovated in the 14th century during the Marinid Sultanate, making it one of the few surviving monuments from this period of the city, and is notable for its small but richly decorated minaret.

Historic Site Landmark