The Grand Mosque of Meknes is the historic main mosque (Friday mosque) of the old city of Meknes, Morocco. It is the largest and most important mosque in the old city and one of its oldest monuments. It is a 12th century structure built during the Almoravid rule. It was later restored under the Almohad, Marinid and Alouite periods.

The mosque’s shape and design are characteristic of traditional mosques in Morocco or North Africa. It is made up of a large interior prayer hall with a floor area of about 3500 square meters. The main area (south of the courtyard) is divided into nine aisles by rows of arches that run parallel to the southern/south-eastern wall (also known as the qibla wall, the wall in the direction of prayer). The arches and columns are plain, and the floor is covered with mats.

A central “nave” that is significantly more conspicuous than the rest of the space around it leads to the mihrab and runs roughly north-to-south across the centre of the prayer hall. It is perpendicular to the southern wall (a niche symbolizing the direction of prayer). The mihrab itself was renovated under the reign of Moulay Ismail and is embellished with carved and painted stucco (ruled 1672–1727). This era also includes the minbar (mosque pulpit) in the area.

A wide courtyard (sahn) with a central fountain to aid in ablutions can be seen in the mosque’s northern wing. The prayer hall and its arches are located on three sides of the courtyard, which is covered in zellij tiles. One of the mosque’s main entrances is located on the courtyard’s northern side. Any of the surrounding arches can be used to enter the prayer hall from the courtyard, but the middle arch on the southern side of the courtyard, directly across from the mosque entrance and matching the archway of the central nave leading to the mihrab, is adorned with lavish carved and painted stucco.

The anaza, an elaborate wooden screen with mihrab designs that serves as an outdoor or “summer” mihrab for prayers said in the courtyard, also covers its opening. The anaza is lavishly carved and resembles anazas from the Marinid era, such the one at the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fes, which was finished in 1290, but it is dated to 1715, indicating that it was made during Moulay Ismail’s rule.

The mosque’s façade is largely hidden by the nearby structures and the old city’s dense urban fabric. The mosque has 11 gates, with Bab al-Kutub (Gate of the Books) being one of the primary entrances to the west. Rich stucco ornamentation and a canopy made of painted and sculpted wood surround 210. The mosque may be identified from above by its rows of sloping green-tiled roofs as well as by its sizable and imposing minaret.

During the tenure of the Alaouite ruler Moulay Mohammed ben Abdallah, the current minaret was built (ruled 1757–1790).

The four facades of the minaret are covered with a surface of gleaming green faience tiles, which are a distinguishing feature of minarets in Meknes. Near the base of the minaret, overlooking the courtyard of the mosque, is a dar al-muwaqqit or traditional restaurant.