Inscriptions on the Bab Agnaou (click 3x for maximum detail)

Bab Agnaou is one of the nineteen gates of Marrakesh. It was built in the 12th century in the time of the Almohad dynasty. Marrakech (مراكش marrākish), known as the Pearl of the South, is a city in southwestern Morocco in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... The Almohad Dynasty (From Arabic الموحدون al-Muwahhidun, i. ...

The name Agnaou, like Gnaoua, in Berber refers to black people (cf. Akal-n-iguinawen - land of the black). The gate was called Bab al Kohl (also referrring to black people) or Bab al Qsar (palace gate) in some historical sources. Gnawas circa 1920s The Gnawa or Gnaoua refers at once to a style of Moroccan music with sub-Saharan Africa origins or influence, an ethnic group and religious order at least in part descended from former slaves from Sub-Saharan Africa or black Africans migrated in caravans with the Trans... The Berber languages (or Tamazight) are a group of closely related languages mainly spoken in Morocco and Algeria. ...

The function of the gate must have been representation, first of all. The corner-pieces are decorated with floral decorations extending around a shell. This ornamentation is framed by three beautiful panels and on these panels is an inscription from the Quran in Maghribi, foliated Kufic letters, which were also used in Al-Andalus. Bab Agnaou was renovated and its opening reduced in size, during sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah. Forerunners of this horseshoe-shaped gate with its corner-pieces, framed by inscriptions from the Quran can be found in the Mezquita in Cordoba. It shows many similarities to the contemporary (much simpler) Bab Er-Rouah in Rabat. The Quran (Arabic al-qurʾān أَلْقُرآن; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... Maghrebi script from 13th century northern African Quran Maghrebi script is a cursive form of the Arabic alphabet influenced by Kufic letters that developed in the Maghreb and later in Spain, particularly Andalusia. ... Surah Al-Baqarah written in Kufic form. ... Al-Andalus is the Arabic name given the Iberian Peninsula by its Muslim conquerors; it refers to both the Caliphate proper and the general period of Muslim rule (711–1492). ... The Quran (Arabic al-qurʾān أَلْقُرآن; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... Interior of the Mezquita The Mezquita (Spanish for mosque, from the Arabic مسجد Masjid), was at one time the second largest mosque in the world in Córdoba, Spain and is now a Roman Catholic cathedral. ... Córdoba most commonly means Córdoba, Spain, a famous city in Spain inhabited since the time of ancient Rome, and the seat of the Emir of Córdoba and the Caliph of Córdoba. ... Mausoleum of Mohammed V through mosque ruins NASA image of Rabat Rabat (Arabic الرباط, transliterated ar-Rabāṭ or ar-Ribāṭ), population 1. ...

Bab Agnaou gives entrance to the royal kasbah in the southern part of the medina of Marrakech. The kasbah, built by the Almohad sultan Yaqub al-Mansour, is the site of El Mansouria (the kasbah mosque), the El Badi Palace and the Saadian Tombs. A few well preserved Kasbahs in Aït Benhaddou, Morocco The kasbah is a unique kind of medina, or Islamic city. ... For the record label, see Marrakesh Records. ... A few well preserved Kasbahs in Aït Benhaddou, Morocco The kasbah is a unique kind of medina, or Islamic city. ... The Almohad Dynasty (From Arabic الموحدون al-Muwahhidun, i. ... Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur (c. ... El Badi Palace, located in Marrakech (Morocco), consists nowadays of the remnants of a magnificent palace built by the Saadian king Ahmed el-Mansour in 1578. ... [edit] The Saadian tombs in Marrakech The Saadian tombs in Marrakech date back from the time of the great sultan Ahmad I al-Mansur (1578-1603). ...

Bab Agnaou

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 553 KB) Marrakech, Bab Agnaou File links The following pages link to this file: Marrakech Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 553 KB) Marrakech, Bab Agnaou File links The following pages link to this file: Marrakech Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ...

External links

• Image of Bab Agnaou (click to enlarge): http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1382247923032656418XqZeDd
• With clear details (by Phil Douglis): http://www.pbase.com/image/72900080
• Close-up (by Phil Douglis): http://www.pbase.com/pnd1/image/72906446
• Bab Er-Rouah in Rabat (by Richard Ishida): [1]

See also

• Koutoubia Mosque
• Menara gardens
• Hassan Tower
• Giralda

The Koutoubia Mosque is the largest mosque in Marrakech, Morocco. ... Menara surrounded by the gardens. ... The Hassan Tower The Giralda, the Hassan Towers sister Hassan Tower or Tour Hassan (Arabic: برج حسان; transliterated: Burj Hassan) is the minaret of an incomplete mosque in Rabat, Morocco. ... For the food company, see Alimentos La Giralda. ...

References

Sanctuaires et fortresses almohades / H. Basset and Henri Terrasse, Collection "Hespéris" ; no 5, Paris, 1932