Moroccan architecture Facts for Kids

Islamic Architecture in the Royal Palace in Fes.

Moroccan architecture includes various structures built during different time periods. from the first Berberians settlers from the south and through the Arab invastion from the east and the European conquest that came from the north. The most notable style in this country is the Berberian Architecture that existed initially, followed by the style of local Islamic architecture that shaped the local style that came after the Arabs entered.

Moroccan riad

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A traditional Moroccan townscape in Chefchaouen
The minaret of the Kutubiyya Mosque in Marrakesh, built under the Almohads in the 12th century
The ksar of Ait Benhaddou, in the southern High Atlas mountains of Morocco
Colonial architecture in Casablanca
The 10th-century minaret of the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque, in Fes (seen through the arches of the later 16th-century Saadian pavilions)
Bab Mansour, the ceremonial main gate of the Kasbah of Moulay Isma'il in Meknes (early 18th century)
A carved and painted wooden ceiling in the Bahia Palace (late 19th to early 20th century)
The headquarters of Bank al-Maghrib in Rabat, completed in 1930 under French colonial rule, with Mauresque (Neo-Moorish) flourishes
The new extension to the Marrakesh Menara Airport, completed in 2008
The courtyard (sahn) of the Great Mosque of Kairouan, in present-day Tunisia, founded in 670. Kairouan was one of the centres of power and culture in early Islamic North Africa.
Interior of the Kasbah Amridil in Skoura, a restored example of an oasis kasbah, originally built in the 17th century
Avenue Mohammed V in Rabat, an example of 20th-century architecture and urban planning introduced during the French occupation
Bab Bou Jeloud in Fes, a "Moorish"-style gate built by the French in 1913 at the entrance to the old city
General example of rammed earth (pisé) wall being built (with metal instead of wooden scaffolding)
The surface of the 12th-century Kutubiyya minaret: the use of rubble masonry is visible, as are the faint remains of plaster, with painted decoration, which once covered it.
Example of carved stucco with calligraphic decoration in the Bou Inania Madrasa of Fes
Close-up of the 12th-century bronze overlays on Bab al-Gna'iz, one of the doorways of the Qarawiyyin Mosque
The mausoleum of Moulay Idris II in Fes
Interior of the 18th-century Funduq al-Najjariyyin (Fondouk Nejjarine) in Fes
The dome of a hammam room in the Bahia Palace of Marrakesh
The 16th-century Mouassine Fountain in Marrakesh, attached to the Mouassine Mosque
A khettara emerging at the surface near Rissani (Tafilalt region)
A riad garden in the 19th-century Bahia Palace of Marrakesh
Alfred Bel's sketch of one of the gallery facades of the courtyard of a 14th-century house, studied in 1914 right before its demolition. The house contained many classic elements of later Moroccan houses and its decoration was similar to that of Marinid madrasas of the time.
A traditional house in Fes (serving as a carpet shop today), with a classic two-story gallery with large central openings flanked by smaller side arches
A large riad garden (Le Jardin Secret) in Marrakesh, part of a former private mansion rebuilt in the 19th century
Characteristic stone doorway in the Kasbah of Rabat
Entrance to the Royal Palace (Dar al-Makhzen) in Rabat
Entrance to the Kasbah of Tangier
Kasbah Taourirt in Ouarzazate, an example of tighremt architecture with exterior geometric decoration
An agadir in the Anti-Atlas region of Morocco
The Sqala of the Port in Essaouira
An ornate berchla ceiling in the 16th-century Saadian Tombs
Wooden canopy over the entrance of the 14th-century Mosque of Abu al-Hasan
Polylobed arches at the Almoravid Qubba in Marrakesh
A polylobed arch in the Mosque of Tinmal
Lambrequin arches in the Mosque of Tinmal
A lambrequin arch with muqarnas in the Madrasa al-Attarine, Fes
Arabesque motifs and a palmette image carved into the spandrel of the Marinid gate at Chellah, Rabat
Arabesque and pine cone motifs along with Kufic inscriptions around the Ben Youssef Madrasa's mihrab, in Marrakesh
Arabesques carved in stucco over an archway in the al-Attarine Madrasa in Fes
A sebka or darj wa ktaf motif on one of the facades of the Hassan Tower in Rabat
Another variation on the sebka motif, with a trefoil-like shape, on one of the facades of the minaret of the Kasbah Mosque in Marrakesh
Sebka motif filled with arabesques in the carved stucco decoration of the Ben Youssef Madrasa
Darj wa ktaf motif on Bab Mansour in Meknes
Twelve-pointed star motifs in zellij tilework at the Saadian Tombs, Marrakesh
Geometric patterns in zellij tilework at the Al-Attarine Madrasa in Fes
Geometric motifs on the bronze plating of the doors of the Al-Attarine Madrasa
Geometric patterns in a wooden ceiling in the Ben Youssef Madrasa in Marrakesh
Late 12th-century Kufic inscription carved into stone on the Almohad gate of Bab Agnaou in Marrakesh
Kufic script with ornamental flourishes, painted on tile
Arabic calligraphic inscription carved into stucco in the early 14th-century al-Attarine Madrasa in Fes
Arabic calligraphic inscription carved into wood in the early 14th-century Sahrij Madrasa in Fes, surrounded by other arabesque decoration
Muqarnas vault above the entrance of the Ben Youssef Madrasa in Marrakesh
Muqarnas above a window in the Bou Inania Madrasa of Meknes
Small muqarnas cupola inside the mihrab of the Mosque of Tinmal
Detail of muqarnas decoration in the Saadian Tombs in Marrakesh
Muqarnas carved in wood in the Dar al-Makhzen of Tangier
Niche and linear decoration at Kasbah Taourirt in Ouarzazate
A tighremt in Ait Benhaddou with decoration
Detail of decoration on a house in Ait Benhaddou
Horseshoe arches in the windows of the Kasbah Amridil
The Almohad-era walls of Rabat
Almohad gate of the Kasbah of the Udayas in Rabat
A complex bent passage in the Bab Debbagh gate of Marrakesh

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Moroccan architecture Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.

Moroccan architecture facts for kids

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