Dar Moqri

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dar Moqri, view over the largest courtyard

Dar Moqri (also spelled Dar al-Moqri or Dar Mokri) is a historic palace or aristocratic house in Fes el-Bali, the old medina of Fes, Morocco. It dates from the 19th-20th century, and was built for the wealthy and powerful Moqri family.

History[]

Dar Moqqri, seen from the south on the medina skyline

The Moqri family was a wealthy family of merchant origin which rose to prominence within the royal government (or makhzen). They originated from Tlemcen and immigrated to Morocco at the beginning of the 19th century under the patriarch Abu Abdallah al-Akhal, settling in Fez in 1805.[1][2] His son Haj Abdesalam al-Moqri became secretary of the treasury under Sultan Moulay Hassan before later being placed in charge of royal constructions. He supervised the construction of Dar Batha and the adjacent Dar al-Beida palace in Fes. It was Haj Abdelsalam who first built the Dar Moqri in the late 19th century, its size and richness reflecting the family's wealth at the time.[2][3][4][5] The house is located in a district historically known as al-'Uyun ("the Sources") and known today as the Ziat or Ziyat neighbourhood, which until the 19th century was a garden district with relatively plenty of open space to build, which thus attracted the construction of several new mansions by wealthy families.[1][3][5] The Glaoui family and the al-Tazi family, for example, also had their own palatial mansions in the same district, which still exist today.[1][2]

In the early 20th century, under the reign of Sultan Abd al-Hafid, the Moqri and Glaoui families became the two most powerful families in the royal government of Morocco. In particular, Muhammad al-Moqri, the son of Haj Abdelsalam, rose to several high offices, including supervisor of royal construction (like his father), until he became Grand Vizier under Moulay Abdelaziz in 1905.[2] His son, Ahmad el-Moqri, was also appointed governor of Fes.[6] Muhammad was Grand Vizier upon the advent of the French Protectorate in 1912 and kept this post under the formal successors of Abd al-Hafid, throughout the 44-year period of French colonial rule, until right after Moroccan independence in 1956. He died in 1957, at the age of 105.[7][8]: 373 

An ornate room in the Riad Driss Moqri (a different mansion, further north, built by another member of the Moqri family)

The exact chronology of the Dar Moqri's construction is difficult to establish,[2] but it may have been completed in its present form in the early 20th century by Muhammad.[9] Another building, known as the "Riad Driss Moqri", was built further north in the 20th century by Driss Moqri, a brother of Muhammad al-Moqri who was mohtasib in Fes.[10][11][2]

Architecture[]

The palace is considered one of the finest examples of late 19th and early 20th century domestic architecture in Fes.[3][5][12] However, its layout and form is somewhat atypical of other Moroccan mansions of the era, especially compared to the more classical architecture of its nearby contemporaries like the Dar Glaoui and Dar al-Tazi. For example, it is organized around two sections with two different axes and different sets of rooms, instead of one main axis with symmetrical structures on either side.[2]

The residential complex consists of several courtyards and structures, covering two-and-a-half acres.[2][5] There were at least fifty rooms, including guest rooms, along with multiple private hammams (bathhouses), kitchens, stables, and storage areas.[2] The largest courtyard, a long rectangular patio on the southeastern side of the palace, is lined with arcades on either side and decorated with marble and faience tiles, star-shaped water basins, white marble fountains, zellij tilework, carved stucco, and sculpted wood ceilings.[12][5] There are also traces of European influence, with classical Italian motifs appearing in the carved capitals of the columns around the courtyard.[2]: 104  The palace also had a music pavilion and was surrounded by various orchards and gardens, including a large terrace with views over the city.[2][5][3][10]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Le Tourneau, Roger (1949). Fès avant le protectorat: étude économique et sociale d'une ville de l'occident musulman. Casablanca: Société Marocaine de Librairie et d'Édition.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k Cavender, Amel (2017). Migrants and Fassi Merchants: Urban Changes in Morocco, 1830-1912. Purdue University, Department of History (PhD thesis). pp. 156–159.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Palais Abdeslam Moqri" (information sign posted outside the building). Regional Council of Tourism - Fez.
  4. ^ "Visiting Fez !". www.festourism.org. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Métalsi, Mohamed (2003). Fès: La ville essentielle. Paris: ACR Édition Internationale. pp. 155–156. ISBN 978-2867701528.
  6. ^ Burke, Edmund (2009). Prelude to Protectorate in Morocco: Pre-Colonial Protest and Resistance, 1860-1912. University of Chicago Press. pp. 154–155.
  7. ^ "Muḥammad al-Muqrī | grand vizier of Morocco". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  8. ^ Abun-Nasr, Jamil (1987). A history of the Maghrib in the Islamic period. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521337674.
  9. ^ Aouchar, Amina (2005). Fès, Meknès. Flammarion. pp. 210–211.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "Circuit "Palais et jardin Andalou" à Fès". Vanupied (in French). 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  11. ^ "Palais et Jardins Andalous". Amazingfes (in French). 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Gaudio, Attilio (1982). Fès: Joyau de la civilisation islamique. Paris: Les Presse de l'UNESCO: Nouvelles Éditions Latines. p. 213. ISBN 2723301591.

Coordinates: 34°03′30.6″N 4°58′30.5″W / 34.058500°N 4.975139°W / 34.058500; -4.975139

Retrieved from ""