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The Koutoubia Mosque is the largest mosque in Marrakech, Morocco.


Images of Morocco, Koutoubia Mosque The minaret was completed under the reign of Yacoub el-Mansour (1184-1199) and was used as model for Giralda of Seville then for the Hassan Tower of Rabat.

The name is derived from the Arabic al-Koutoubiyyin for librarian, since it used to be surrounded by sellers of manuscripts. It is considered the ultimate structure of its kind. The tower is 69 m (221 ft) in height and has a lateral length of 12.8 m (41 ft).

Six rooms (one above the other) constitute the interior; leading around them is a ramp by way of which the muezzin could ride up to the balcony. The tower is adorned with four copper globes.

According to legend, they were originally made of pure gold, and there were once supposed to have been only three. The fourth was donated by the wife of Yacoub el-Mansour as compensation for her failure to keep the fast for one day during the month of Ramadan. She had her golden jewelry melted down to fashion the fourth globe.


Images of Morocco, Koutoubia Mosque ABU USUF YACOUB EL-MANSOUR (c. 1160 - January 23, 1199), was the third Almohad caliph, succeeding his father Abu Ya'qub Yusuf.

Abu Yusuf Yacoub el-Mansour reigned from 1184 until 1199 and died in Marrakech, Morocco.

During his reign, he undertook several major projects. He built the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech and attempted to build what would have been the world's largest mosque in Rabat. However, construction on the mosque stopped after al-Mansur died. Only the beginnings of the mosque had been completed, including the Hassan Tower.

Al-Mansur protected the philosopher Averroes and kept him as a favorite at court.

In the Battle of Alarcos, on July 18, 1195, he defeated Castilian King Alfonso VIII. After victory, he took the title al-Mansur Billah ("Made Victorious by God").


Retrieved from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

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