One sultan commissioned the same minaret three times, in three different countries. Two of them failed their original purpose. The one that survived changed the skyline of Marrakech and became the template for every mosque tower built in the western Islamic world for the next eight hundred years.
The Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakesh was built twice. The first version, completed around 1157, had a flaw: the qibla pointed roughly five degrees east of true. Abd al-Mu'min razed it and started again.
The minaret was completed around 1195 under Ya'qub al-Mansur. He commissioned identical minarets elsewhere: the Giralda in Seville, the Hassan Tower in Rabat. The Giralda survives as a cathedral bell tower. The Hassan Tower stands incomplete. The Koutoubia alone remains as intended.
The name comes from kutubiyyin—'booksellers.' Up to one hundred vendors once clustered at the minaret's base.
Marrakesh building codes now prohibit any structure from exceeding the Koutoubia's height.
The Koutoubia, the Giralda, the Hassan Tower. Three identical commissions, three different fates. The pilgrimage visits two.
Tell us about your trip →The Facts
- —Koutoubia: 77 meters tall, visible 25km away
- —Built twice — first version 5° off qibla, razed and rebuilt
- —Completed ~1195 under Ya'qub al-Mansur
- —Name from kutubiyyin (booksellers) — 100 vendors at its base
- —Identical minarets: Giralda (Seville), Hassan Tower (Rabat)
- —Giralda survives as cathedral bell tower
- —Hassan Tower stands incomplete at 44m
- —Marrakech building codes: nothing may exceed Koutoubia height
Sources
- Bloom, Jonathan. Minaret: Symbol of Islam. Oxford Studies in Islamic Art, 1989
- Marçais, Georges. L'architecture musulmane d'occident. Arts et Métiers Graphiques, 1954
- Deverdun, Gaston. Marrakech: des origines à 1912. 1959
