Marrakech
An architectural and religious experience through the mosques
Marrakesh has been involved many different cultures that came together throughout years and created its genuine language. For centuries, the city was formed by Islamic traditions from Arab neighbors, and western ones from European colonizers. All of these influences have created a culture unlike any other and nowhere is this more clear than in the cities' unique architectural style. Today, many different design elements can be found however the strongest influence in the country's architecture remained as Islam. Mosques are arguably one of the most important structures of Marrakesh. Based on a rectangular plan followed by a courtyard in the middle with fountains covered in green and white zellij, a beautifully adorned mihrab (a niche indicat indicating the direction to Mecca) in stucco and marble, it is no wonder people find Moroccan mosques to be the epitome of Moroccan architecture.
This article represents a journey to Islamic religion and its most significant architectures, mosques. It demonstrates how architecture can diverse according to the different conditions (historicaI, politicaI, culturaI, geographical...etc.) even if it is based on a universal notion like religion. Apart from that, each moment of the journey (interviews, dialogues, comments, actions like praying sequences, ... etc.) expressed in order to give a broder understanding, not only on architecture but also on the religion. Last but not least, as a person who comes from another Islamic country, this article provides a comparison between the two countries by their religious culture and its representation on architecture.
The reason of his reaction is because Arabic is the only language inside the mosques of Marrakesh.Another difference (and perhaps the most interesting one) he recognised, was about the accessibility. All of the mosques of Medina open only during pray time and accessible only for the Muslim people. Additionally, there are only specific mosques open where you can pray during the noon pray time.
"It is not possible to enter to every Mosque at every pray time . During the ''dhuhr'' there are specific Mosques open in which you can pray. "
On the contrary, almost all the mosques are open to the public in Turkey. They are accessible every time for everyone even if you are Muslim or not. Besides the general differences mentioned above, there are also very significant differences in architecture. One of the primary difference is about the location and characteristics of the ablution fountain.
In Morrocan mosques the fountain locates inside the mosque, at the center of the courtyard. It is composed by a single fountain without any taps where you use container to take water. In Turkish mosques, the fountain always located at the outside or at the courtyard of the mosque which is still not consider as the inner part. Another difference and probably one of the most notable one is the shape of the Minaret The common shape of Minare ts in Turkey are the cylindirical ones. On the contrary, as in Koutubia and other mosques of Morroco, the Minaret placed on a square or rectangular plan. The name ''minaret'' was originally derived from the Arabic word "minara· which means beacon or lantern that in tum testifies the ancient practical functions of minarets which served as watch towers. At later stages of the history, minarets by evolving through the political, social sensitivities and aesthetics took various shapes in line with the architecturaI style of the region or country and as a result of which minarets of various architectural shapes have appeared. The main architectural elements which have shaped up the construction of a minaret are the materials available in that particular region, their sense of ornamentation, tradition and the building trends of the period.
Due to all these reasons, minarets of Islam have developed a style in correlation with the geography and thus distinctive minaret forms emerged. However it is interesting that there is no general architectural rule about mosques in Islam culture.
Bajir had a chance to enter the Minaret of the Koutubia Mosque which is the most import ant mosque of Marrakesh. This minaret is not only a religious element but it is a Isa the landmark of the city. In fact, the view from the top presents the whole city. His photographs taken from inside of the minaret reveals few more distinctions. There are remarkable differences on the dimensions and composition of the interior space. Minarets in Turkey have narrow spaces where the vertical connections provided by staircases. In contrast minaret of Koutubia has a wide interior space and the vertical connection provided by ramps.
He also mentioned that people used donkeys or horses to access to the top. This makes in a way more understandable how big is the domestic space. Till few yea rs before the Minaret was open to the Muslims however it is closed to the public right now.
Besides all these differences the most significant difference is about the formation.
The Morrocan mosques based on a rectangular plan, followed by a courtyard and a praying room. Rooms characterised with repetitive arches which placed with the same alignment. Generally flat and pitched roof a re the two most common roof types. On the other hand, mosques in Turkey based on a square plan where there is only the praying room included to the interior space. In most cases it locates at the center of the mosque where the central dome has the key role for the characterisation of the space. In addition, courtyard is considered as a transition point between the external and internal part.
Apart from all these differences, rugs are one of the most important domestic furnitures of mosques in Marrakesh. These rugs distinct from all the other mosques in the rest of the world which provides an authentic and special characteristic to the interior space. From what the recepcionist (Bajir) said it is specially made in Ra bat called "Royal Rabat Rug''. In Turkey there is no specific tradition about rugs. They can have different colours and different decoration. However, the most common colours are blue, green and red.
2. The stops of the journey:
Kasbah Mosque and Koutubia Mosque
The first stop of the journey was the Mosque called 'Kasbah Mosque'' which is located at the south part of Marrakesh. It was the 'dhurh' time so there were many people came for salaah. As it was written also on the many reviews and many websites, it is not possible to enter a mosque if you are not a Muslim person. There are no guards or police but the citizens are the one who check you all the time. This situation happened also at Mosque El Yaziid where an old man who was standing next to the entrance and preventing tourists to enter inside.
After a short conversation and showing passaport, he allowed me to enter. He host me from the beginning to the end of the praying sequence. One of the interesting thing was the boxes close to the entrance. In most cases, people take off shoes before entering to the Mosque. On the contrary, there were small bags for shoes where you can put them and bring inside. As a prediction, the reason of this solution might be because of the frequent theft. This kind of stealing shoes is very common also in Turkey as well.
After putting the shoes, the first stop was the ablution fountain which is located at the courtyard. The courtyard was again at the centre of the mosque. It is the element which provides the illumination and ventilation of the whole space. It was characterised by flooring with white and green zellij and white painted Moorish arches.
The usage of the colours have strong symbolic meanings in both Islamic and Morrocan architecture. The choices of the colours might be decided according to this reason. For instance,green represents lslamism. It is the colour of Quran and also it is associated with paradise. On the other hand white colour symbolises cleanness, good luck and beauty in Morrocan culture and in Islam this colour connect moral qualities. After performing the ablution, the next step is performing the salaat. Salaat is the praying sequence which is perform by the whole community together. It happens at the praying room which is designed according to the direction of Mecca. In Kasbah Mosque it was located at the right side.
The second stop was the Koutubia Mosque. It is the most famous mosque of Marrakesh and also the land mark of the city, According to the recepcionist of the Riad, the best time to go to Koutubia Mosque is Friday. It is gathering point of whole people of Marrakesh to pray. In addition to that , Berber people from Atlas Mountains come to Marrakesh on Fridays only for praying at Koutubia Mosque. This shows in a way how speciaI it is for people of Marrakesh. On the other hand, Friday is the special day for Islam culture. It is considered as the 'bairam of the prayers' What was different from the Kasbah Mosque is the arrangement of the spaces. In Kasbah Mosque, the first area after the entrance was a hall which located next to the praying room In Koutubia Mosque there was direct access to the praying room. Another difference was at the courtyard. The usage of green spaces were exist only in Koutubia. On the other hand the usage of flooring material was different from the one which was used in Kasbah Mosque. In Kasbah, the use of white colour was dominant, however in the whole flooring was formed by zellij where the green was used more dominant.
However the functions, proportions, architectural elements, constructed materiaIs were quite similar to each other. For instance, in both cases the ablution fountain was directly located inside the mosque and there were no taps. The water was collected by small containers for using ablution. In between the clean water and the seatings there is a line of drain created where you pour the used water after ablution. Another similarity was the structure of the roof. It is composed by small repetitive pitched roofs in between ever y two arches. Wood is the main element and it was v isible from inside. Last but not least the use special rugs from Rabat called "Rabat Royalty Rug' were common in both cases.