Constructed in 1558/965 AH by Lalla Mansour, the mother of Ahmad  al-Mansur Dahbi (r. 1578-1603 / 968-1012 AH). The prayer hall has eight naves, delineated by large, decorated columns supporting monumental arches. The Sahn is bordered by 5 arch porticoes on three sides, and the minaret is in the northwest corner. The main entrance façade has three blind arches to the north of the monumental portal. A madrasa, hamam, and Qur’anic school are associated with the mosque.
Bab Doukkala Mosque has a very similar shape and design to the Mouassine Mosque, which was constructed shortly after it. Additionally, it keeps many of the architectural features of the Kutubiyya Mosque and the Tinmal Mosque, two earlier Almohad mosques. Although slightly smaller than the Mouassine Mosque, the Bab Doukkala Mosque’s architecture is in some ways more complex and exquisitely ornamented. A hypostyle prayer hall makes up the mosque’s smaller southern section, while its relatively larger northern section is made up of a nearly square shape internal courtyard (Sahn) that is enclosed on all sides by a roofed gallery of arches.
A fountain sits in the middle of the courtyard, which is 29 by 30 meters. The mosque’s north-eastern corner is where the minaret is situated. Blind lambrequin arches and darj-wa-ktaf motifs are used to embellish its façades.
With the centre aisle being slightly bigger than the rest, the prayer hall is divided into seven aisles or naves by rows of horseshoe arches running perpendicular with the southeast wall (the Qibla wall). In addition to being highlighted at either end by a decorative cupola above, the mosque’s central aisle is in line with its mihrab, a niche in the southeast wall that represents the direction of prayer (Qibla). Directly in front of the mihrab, the cupola at the south-easterly end features a classic square design with muqarnas. Four muqarnas squinches help the cupola at the aisle’s northwest end, where it faces the courtyard, transition from its octagonal shape to the square space below. The dome is likewise filled with muqarnas compositions.
According to an inscription on the cupola, the more ornate structure may be the result of renovation work completed in 1852-1853 CE (1269 AH) by Muhammad as-Sheikh al-M’amun (the future Muhammad IV) during Moulay Abd ar-rule. Rahman’s Additionally, a third aisle forms a “T-plan” with the mosque’s central aisle by running parallel to and perpendicular to the mosque’s southeast wall. A sequence of transverse arches with pointed lambrequin profiles that run perpendicular to the other arches of the mosque serve to distinguish this transverse aisle from the rest of the building. Two lambrequin arches on either side of the mihrab serve as additional highlights and continue the pattern of arches down the mosque’s main central aisle.
As a result, the three slightly more complex lambrequin arches that encircle the mihrab are similarly embellished with muqarnas inside of their intrados. A square-based muqarnas cupola is located at each end of the transverse aisle, near the mosque’s southwest and southeast corners, respectively. Last but not least, bands of stucco carved with rather straightforward geometric decoration form semi-rectangular frames on the wall surfaces surrounding each arch to embellish the arches in the rest of the prayer hall.
The mihrab is decorated with the customary arabesque and geometric carvings on the surface of the wall around its arched doorway, as well as an inscription in Kufic that runs in a square frame around the arch. A tiny, octagonal muqarnas cupola is placed over the alcove inside the mihrab. While the decoration of the mihrab in this and other Saadian mosques is very similar to that of the earlier Almohad mosques in Marrakesh, the decoration is less varied in its details and more repetitive, while also increasing the variety of bands or friezes of carved motifs.
The Bayt Al-‘Itikaf (Arabic ), which served as a place for spiritual retreat, is located at the southwest corner of the mosque, extending from the transverse aisle in front of the qibla wall. It consists of a tiny square chamber with a double-arched window that looks back onto the mosque’s prayer hall and is reached via a little staircase. The window’s column is built of marble and has a capital with muqarnas carvings, and the arches have simple stucco ornamentation. This characteristic is also present at the Mouassine Mosque, however its bayt al-‘itikaf has significantly more elaborate ornamentation.
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