Dictionary of islamic architecture

See also:
Djenné, Mali, Sudan, West Africa
Further reading:
L.Prussin, ‘ Sudanese architecture and the Manding’,
African Arts
3(4): 12–19 and 64–7, 1970.
manzil
Arabic term for house or way station (literally ‘a
place to stay’).
maq
ad
Projecting balcony overlooking a courtyard in
Egyptian houses.
maqbara
Graveyard.
maqsura
Screen which encloses the area of the mihrab and minbar
in early mosques.
The origin of the screens was to protect the caliph
from assassination attempts during praying. There
also may have been some spiritual connotation
similar to the chancel screen in churches. They were
often wooden screens decorated with carvings or
interlocking turned pieces of wood (mashrabiyya).
Marakesh
Southern capital of Morocco.
Marakesh is on a wide plain located 40 km from the
High Atlas. It was founded by the Almoravid ruler
mandal

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Yusf ibn Tashfin in 1062, although there are few
buildings which have survived from this period. The
best surviving example is the dome of the Almoravid
palace; built of baked brick covered with plaster, the
dome rests on a square brick base. The area
immediately below the drum is pierced with twenty-
four multifoil niches, whilst the dome itself is
decorated with interlaced arches in relief and zig-
zag patterns on the top. Inside the dome has an
entirely different configuration and consists of an
eight-pointed star rising to a muqarnas dome.
Remains from the Almohad period (twelfth to
thirteenth century) include the Kutubiyya Mosque,
the Kasba Mosque and the Bab Agnau. The
Kutubiyya Mosque is built in the traditional
Almohad style with the lateral arcades of the
courtyard forming an integral part of the prayer
hall. The mosque has a minaret more than 60 m
high, decorated with windows and blind niches
with interlaced arches; at the top there is a small
kiosk covered with a fluted dome. The parapet is
decorated with ceramic tile inlays and stepped
merlons. The minaret is ascended by a ramp which
is built around a hollow square core. The core
contains a series of six vaulted rooms, one on each
storey and each with a different form of vault (the
design is similar to the Giralda tower in Seville).
The Kasba Mosque is a square building containing
five courtyards, four subsidiary and one central.
The minaret is decorated in a similar style to the
Kutubiyya and inside there is a staircase built
around a central core. The Bab Agnau is part of the
massive Almohad fortifications which stretch
around the city for a distance of over 10 km. The
gateway is built of brick and comprises a wide
opening covered with a pointed horseshoe arch. The
inner arch is framed by a magnificent round
horseshoe arch decorated with a bold interlaced
pattern. The intrados of the arch is decorated with
bold stylized flora, and the whole is enclosed within
a giant rectangular frame with a Kufic inscription.
The city has three madrassas the oldest of which
is the Bin Yusuf Madrassa built as a mosque in the
twelfth century and converted in the sixteenth. The
town also contains the tombs of various Moroccan
rulers, including that of Yusuf ibn Tashfin founder
of the Almoravid dynasty, and the tomb of the seven
saints which is still the object of an annual
pilgrimage.
There are several palaces within the city, the oldest
of which is the Dar al Makhzan founded by the
Almohads but considerably altered in the sixteenth
century. The city also contains historic gardens, the
most important being the Mamounia, originally laid
out in the seventeenth century.