Koutoubia Mosque, Religious monument in Medina quarter, Morocco
The Koutoubia Mosque is the largest mosque in Marrakesh, built of tan sandstone from the Jbel Gueliz quarries. Its square minaret rises 77 metres, with a 12.80-metre base, carved geometric reliefs on each face, and a band of white and green tile near the top, crowned by a lantern with a pointed finial and golden sphere. The prayer hall covers 5,300 square metres with 17 naves and 11 domes.
The Almohad dynasty ordered its construction in the middle of the 12th century after driving the Almoravids from Marrakesh. A new building was later raised on the same site to set a religious standard for their rule.
The name comes from kutubiyyin, "booksellers", after the book and manuscript market that stood by the mosque's eastern facade; excavations found traces of about 100 shops there. The Almoravid minbar made in Cordoba around 1150 still belongs to the mosque. The Koubba of Lalla Zohra, tomb of a 17th-century Marrakesh saint, stands on the esplanade.
The minaret stands a short walk from Djemaa el-Fna square and serves as a landmark visible from many points across the Medina. Non-Muslims cannot enter the prayer hall, but the surrounding rose gardens remain open for walking and viewing the exterior.
Inside the tower, six floors rise one above the other and connect through ramps instead of staircases. These wide slopes were designed so the muezzin could ride a horse to the top for calling prayer.
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