The koutoubia Mosque

Over time, the Koutoubia mosque has become an emblem of Marrakech.
Its construction was decided in 1158 by the sultan Almohades Abdel Moumen soon after his conquest of Marrakech. It was completed in 1199 with the construction of its famous minaret ordered by the sultan’s grandson, Yacoub el-Mansour.
Koutoubia, literally the “Booksellers’ Mosque” in Arab, is named after the large number of sellers of books and manuscripts that set up their stalls in the immediate vicinity of the building from the 12th-13th

The Badi Palace:

The “incomparable palace” was built in 1578; some remnants of its magnificent past remain.
The decision to build Dar el-Badi, the “incomparable palace” was taken by the Saadian Sovereign Ahmed el-Mansour as a celebration after his victory against the Portuguese army during the Battle of the Three Kings in 1578.
The construction of this sumptuous palace lasted from 1578 to 1603.
The richest materials were used to decorate the 360 rooms of the princely complex.

El Bahia Palace

A small folly ordered in 1880 by the great vizier Sidi Moussa.
The Bahia palace is a small piece of folly ordered in 1880 by the great vizier Sidi Moussa.
Successively at the service of sultans Moulay Hassan and Moulay Abd el-Aziz, Sidi Moussa was the defacto minister of the kingdom of Morocco.

Informations and photos of the bahia palace

The Djamaa El-Fna square

Djemâa el-Fna, at the heart of the Marrakesh Medina.
The night-time entertainment of this mythical square amazes the most blasé of travellers. The several traditional festivities, stalls, restaurants or famous water-sellers make the Djemâa el Fna a must to visit.
The Djemâa el Fna square is an inescapable place in Marrakesh.
A real central road of the Marrakesh Medina, it enables to take in the proliferation of life and activities that characterise the imperial town.
The charm of the Djemâa el Fna square comes from the multitude of street-artists

Informations and photos of the Djamaa el Fna square

The Saadian Tombs

The only remnant that recounts the power and refinement of the Saadian dynasty.
Located on the side of the Kasbah mosque, the Saadian tombs are one of the only remnants of the Saadian dynasty that reigned over the golden age of Marrakech from 1524 to 1659. Indeed, at the start of the 18th century, the sultan Moulay Ismaïl decided to banish all trace of the magnificence of this dynasty, by demanding the destruction of all remaining remnants.
However, he did not dare commit the sacrilege of destroying their graves and ordered that the entrance to the necropolis be walled. The secret was well-kept until 1917, when the site of the Saadian tombs was rediscovered.

The Medrasa Ben youssef

The Ben Youssef Medersa is a jewel of Arabo-Andalusian architecture.
The Ben Youssef Medersa is one of the jewels of Marrakesh. The current structure of this Koranic school was built around 1570 by the Saadians and restored in 1950.
At the time of its splendour, the Ben Youssef medersa could house up to 900 students in the 150 cells of the building.
This architectural characteristic makes this holy building the biggest medersa in the whole of the Maghreb region ( area of North Africa covered by Morocco, Tunisia , Algeria and Libya. Maghreb literaly means "where the sun sets.

Informations photos of la medrasa ben youssef

The Menara

The central lake and its adjoining pavilion exult the romanticism of the “Southern pearl” Planted with olive-trees, some of which are more than 100 years old, the charm of the Menara garden lies in its central part.
Its large central lake was dug in the 12th century at the time of Almohade.
On one side, there is a harmonious Saadian pavilion that was built at the end of the 19th century.
Legend has it that the Menara garden was a place of love trysts for the sultans.

Informations and photos of the Menara

The doors (Bab Doukkala, Bab Aghmat)

Marrakech is surrounded of cob ramparts.
This wall is five meters high and two meters thickness.
It extends over a length from approximately 12 km.
It was built by Almoravide Ali Ben Youssef in 1126-1127.
A part of the enclosure is still well preserved, it was however widened at the time of the successive enlargings of the medina, in particular at the time almohade. This immense enclosure is bored by ten doors among which it is necessary to announce

Informations and photos of la koutoubia

Bab Doukkala

Imposing work made up of two projecting bastions on both sides, a door delivering passage to a corridor.
This door of origin almoravide, ownes its name with the homonymous territory, inhabited by almohades populations

Bab Aghmat

opening in one of the bastions which defended it.
This rather curious plan, must result from a rehandling of the primitive door of time almoravide

Informations et photos sur les portes de Marrakech