Great Mosque of Salé

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Great Mosque of Salé
المسجد الأعظم
Salé mosque DSCF6808.jpg
Location
LocationSalé, Morocco
Geographic coordinates34°01′46″N 6°50′10″W / 34.0295°N 6.8360°W / 34.0295; -6.8360Coordinates: 34°01′46″N 6°50′10″W / 34.0295°N 6.8360°W / 34.0295; -6.8360
Architecture
TypeMosque
Groundbreaking1028
Completed1029

The Great Mosque of Salé (Arabic: المسجد الأعظم‎, Masjid Al Aadam) is a mosque in Salé, Morocco. Covering an area of 5,070 m2 (54,600 sq ft), it is the third-largest mosque in Morocco, and was originally built between 1028 and 1029.[1] It has been destroyed and rebuilt several times since the original construction. It was built in Almoravid and Almohad architectural styles, and the mosque features nine gates.[2] It was severely damaged in the Bombardment of Salé of 1851, and was briefly closed during the French protectorate in Morocco.

History[]

Entrance to the mosque (center) and to the adjacent 14th-century Marinid Madrasa (left)

The mosque has been destroyed and rebuilt many times since the beginning of the city's history.[1] A first mosque was built under the orders of from 1028 to 1029.[3][citation needed] A new, larger mosque was built in 1196 under Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur's orders after the old mosque's roof had collapsed.[4] According to historian Abd Al-Mun'im Al-Hasidi, 700 French slaves were involved in the reconstruction under al-Mansur's orders.[3][citation needed]

In 1260 Salé was sacked and occupied by Castilian forces,[4] during which 3000 women, children and elderly residents of the city were gathered in the mosque and taken as slaves for Seville.[1] The Marinid sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub reconquered the city soon afterwards. In 1342 another Marinid sultan, Abu al-Hasan, built the Madrasa of Abu al-Hasan next to the mosque, adding to its development as a religious and intellectual center of the city.[4]

The mosque was largely rebuilt and modified over time, and its present appearance dates from the 17th century, when the city was part of the Republic of Bou Regreg.[4] In 1851, Salé was bombarded by French forces, and the mosque was severely damaged after being struck by six cannonballs.[5]

During the French protectorate in Morocco, the mosque was used for nationalist gatherings in the 1930s, led by people such as Said Hajji, Ahmed Maaninou, , and .[6] The French protectorate later[when?] closed the mosque to prevent it being used as a place to awaken awareness of nationalist sentiment, but it later[when?] re-opened.[6]

Gallery[]

  • The minaret of the mosque

  • The main courtyard (sahn) of the mosque

  • The gallery around the courtyard

  • Inside the prayer hall of the mosque

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Mrini, Driss; Alaoui, Ismaïl (1997). Salé: cité millenaire (in French). Rabat: Editions Eclat. pp. 45–46. ISBN 9789981999503.
  2. ^ "Great Mosque of Salé". Wassila. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "وزارة الأوقاف و الشؤون الإسلامية" (in Arabic). Islamic Morocco. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Mouline, Saïd (2008). "Rabat. Salé – Holy Cities of the Two Banks". The City in the Islamic World. 1. Brill. pp. 643–662. ISBN 9789004171688.
  5. ^ Muḥammad bin 'Alī Dukkālī (1986). Al-Ithaf Al Wajiz, Tarikh Al-Adwatayn (in Arabic). Salā, al-Maghrib: al-Khizānah al-ʻIlmīyah al-Ṣabīḥīyah. p. 337. OCLC 427353826.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b ʻAbd al-Raʼūf ibn ʻAbd al-Raḥmān Ḥajjī (2007). Saïd Hajji : naissance de la presse nationale Marocaine. Lebonfon Inc. ISBN 9780973223613. OCLC 183181000.
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