The Koutoubia Mosque is the largest mosque of Marrakesh and the city's most recognizable landmark, built under the Almohad dynasty soon after they captured the city from the Almoravids. The first building was said to be wrongly oriented toward Mecca, and it was replaced by a second mosque on the same site, which gave the building its present form. Its square minaret, about seventy meters high, is decorated with carved arches and geometric patterns and became a model for later towers such as the Giralda in Seville and the Hassan Tower in Rabat. The name is said to come from the booksellers, or kutubiyyin, whose market once stood nearby. Non-Muslims cannot enter, but the minaret can be seen from afar.
Before and after
- 1138Birth of Saladin
- from 28 April 1138 to 21 May 1138Siege of Shaizar
- from 25 July 1139 to 5 October 1910Kingdom of Portugal
- from 1140 to 1530Gothic art
- 1147Construction of Koutoubia Mosque
- 1147Construction of Maulbronn Monastery
- from 1147 to 1149Second Crusade
- 1148Founding of Offenburg
- from 24 July 1148 to 28 July 1148Siege of Damascus
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The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 12th century.