Minaret and green-tiled roofs of the Grand Mosque in Meknes, Morocco.
Wikipedia: The Grand Mosque of Meknes is the historic main mosque (Friday mosque) of the old city (medina) of Meknes, Morocco. It is the largest and most important mosque in the old city and one of its oldest many grand mosques in other Moroccan cities ( Ben Youssef Mosque in Marrakech or al-Qayrawiyyin in Fes), the mosque is located at the center of the old city and anchors its most important commercial and religious district, which contains the city's main souq streets (also referred to as the qaysariyya or kissaria) and its major historic madrasas, all located near the mosque. The mosque is believed to have been built in the 12th century under the Almoravid dynasty. It underwent significant restoration and expansion under the Almohad caliph Muhammad al-Nasir (ruled 1199-1213), who, among other things, diverted a new source of water to it from a source 9 kilometres south of the city. From the Almohad period the mosque also preserves a large and ornate copper chandelier similar in style to the great Almohad chandelier in the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fes. The mosque underwent major restorations again in the 14th century, under the Marinids. Among other things, the minaret was repaired after having earlier collapsed and killed 7 worshipers. The Marinids were especially responsible for building the major madrasas of the city, which tended to orbit around the mosque. These included the nearby Bou Inania Madrasa (built in 1336) and two other madrasas, Madrasa al-Qadi and Madrasa Shuhud, all built by Sultan Abu el-Hassan. Abu el-Hassan also added a library to the mosque and arranged for a number of Islamic scholars to teach at the mosque. Lastly, further restorations and modifications took place under the Alaouite sultans. Moulay Ismail (ruled 1672-1727) remodeled the mihrab area and gifted the mosque with its current minbar, its anaza, and some of the fountains in its courtyard. Moulay Mohammed ben Abdallah (ru
Size: 4000px × 6000px
Location: Meknes, Morocco
Photo credit: © Bert de Ruiter / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: bert, city, de, faience, grand, great, green, historic, important, islam, islamic, largest, maghreb, main, medina, meknes, minaret, monument, moroccan, morocco, mosque, muslim, portrait, religion, religious, roof, ruiter, shaft, square, sunni, tiles, travel, vertical
