Abu al-Hasan Mosque
History
A foundation inscription etched on a marble tablet within the mosque states that the Marinid monarch Abu al-Hasan constructed it in 1341.
During his rule between 1792 and 1822, Moulay Slimane, the Alaouite Sultan, rebuilt it. It shares a lot of similarities with the nearby Chrabliyine Mosque, which was built and then refurbished around the same period as the mosque in question.
Urban and Architectural
General layout and interior :
Generally speaking, the mosque is a rectangular structure that is 17 meters wide and 10.35 meters deep.
An ornately carved wooden canopy hides the gateway in the shape of a horseshoe arch on the mosque's street facade.
The mosque's interior design has a tiny square courtyard (sahn) that is bordered by galleries on two sides and the main prayer hall on the third. Unusually, the prayer hall is not divided by multiple rows of arches but by a single transverse "nave" that spans the entire width of the structure. The prayer room's wooden ceiling has painted decorations, and it is covered by a slanted timber roof. The mihrab is a niche in the southern wall that opens through a horseshoe arch. Arabic epigraphy, geometric patterns, and arabesques are carved into the stucco around the niche.
During Moulay Slimane's restorations, the mihrab underwent extensive restoration or reconstruction (1792-1823). The Chrabliyine Mosque, which was also built about the same time and restored by Moulay Slimane, has a very similar shape to this one.
On the mosque's east side, there is a separate courtyard with a water basin in the middle encircled by little latrines and tiled in mosaics called zellij. This area serves as a space to do ablutions. In addition to having its own street entry to the east of the mosque's main entrance, this ablution area is connected to the mosque via a passage off the main courtyard.
Minaret :
The mosque's minaret, which towers over Tala'a Seghira's main entrance, has a square shaft and a distinctive Moroccan shape. A tiny secondary square shaft that is 3 meters tall and 1.2 meters wide is perched atop the larger main shaft, which is 15.65 meters high and 3.1 meters wide. A sebka motif is used to embellish the east and west facades of the minaret. A distinctive interlacing design that covers the majority of the base of the radiating arch motif is present on the building's southern and northern facades (including the side that faces the street). Zellij tilework is used to fill in the blank areas between each facade's motifs, and a broad band of the tilework can be seen near the top of the minaret's shaft.
While the large motifs of the minaret originate from the Marinid era, the zellij tilework within these motifs may have been added during Moulay Slimane's repairs in the late 18th or early 19th century. However, it's likely that the zellij band at the top still belongs to the Marinid style. The Chrabliyine Mosque, which was constructed at the same time as the minaret, shares a lot of similarities with it in terms of style. The interlacing theme on its northern and southern sides stands out, though, because it is more inventive.
Description
References
Les mosquées de Fès et du nord du Maroc. Paris: Éditions d'art et d'histoire. pp. 80–85.
L'architecture musulmane d'Occident. Paris: Arts et métiers graphiques. p. 277.
Details
Location
Fes, Morocco
Owners
Abu al-Hassan
Year of Build
1341 CE
Drawings
Map
History
A foundation inscription etched on a marble tablet within the mosque states that the Marinid monarch Abu al-Hasan constructed it in 1341.
During his rule between 1792 and 1822, Moulay Slimane, the Alaouite Sultan, rebuilt it. It shares a lot of similarities with the nearby Chrabliyine Mosque, which was built and then refurbished around the same period as the mosque in question.
Urban and Architectural
General layout and interior :
Generally speaking, the mosque is a rectangular structure that is 17 meters wide and 10.35 meters deep.
An ornately carved wooden canopy hides the gateway in the shape of a horseshoe arch on the mosque's street facade.
The mosque's interior design has a tiny square courtyard (sahn) that is bordered by galleries on two sides and the main prayer hall on the third. Unusually, the prayer hall is not divided by multiple rows of arches but by a single transverse "nave" that spans the entire width of the structure. The prayer room's wooden ceiling has painted decorations, and it is covered by a slanted timber roof. The mihrab is a niche in the southern wall that opens through a horseshoe arch. Arabic epigraphy, geometric patterns, and arabesques are carved into the stucco around the niche.
During Moulay Slimane's restorations, the mihrab underwent extensive restoration or reconstruction (1792-1823). The Chrabliyine Mosque, which was also built about the same time and restored by Moulay Slimane, has a very similar shape to this one.
On the mosque's east side, there is a separate courtyard with a water basin in the middle encircled by little latrines and tiled in mosaics called zellij. This area serves as a space to do ablutions. In addition to having its own street entry to the east of the mosque's main entrance, this ablution area is connected to the mosque via a passage off the main courtyard.
Minaret :
The mosque's minaret, which towers over Tala'a Seghira's main entrance, has a square shaft and a distinctive Moroccan shape. A tiny secondary square shaft that is 3 meters tall and 1.2 meters wide is perched atop the larger main shaft, which is 15.65 meters high and 3.1 meters wide. A sebka motif is used to embellish the east and west facades of the minaret. A distinctive interlacing design that covers the majority of the base of the radiating arch motif is present on the building's southern and northern facades (including the side that faces the street). Zellij tilework is used to fill in the blank areas between each facade's motifs, and a broad band of the tilework can be seen near the top of the minaret's shaft.
While the large motifs of the minaret originate from the Marinid era, the zellij tilework within these motifs may have been added during Moulay Slimane's repairs in the late 18th or early 19th century. However, it's likely that the zellij band at the top still belongs to the Marinid style. The Chrabliyine Mosque, which was constructed at the same time as the minaret, shares a lot of similarities with it in terms of style. The interlacing theme on its northern and southern sides stands out, though, because it is more inventive.
Description