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Lalla Aouda Mosque
The Lalla Aouda Mosque or Mosque of Lalla 'Awda (Arabic: مسجد لالة عودة, romanized: masjid lalla 'awda; Berber languages: ⵎⴻⵣⴳⵉⴷⴰ ⵍⴰⵍⴰ ⵄⴰⵡⴷⴰ, romanized: mezgita lalla 'awda) is a large historic mosque in Meknes, Morocco. It was originally the mosque of the Marinid kasbah (citadel) of the city, built in 1276, but was subsequently remodeled into the royal mosque of the Alaouite sultan Moulay Isma'il's imperial palace in the late 17th century.
The mosque was originally founded in 1276 CE by the Marinid sultan Abu Yusuf Ya'qub as the main mosque of the kasbah (citadel) which the sultan built that same year. It was thus originally known as the Mosque of the Kasbah (Jama' al-Qasba), whereas its current name (Mosque of Lalla Aouda) dates from the Saadian or Alaouite period (16th century or later). The name "Lalla Aouda" refers to Lalla Masuda, a waliya (saint) and the mother of the Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, to whom some accounts attribute the foundation of the mosque.
The remains of both the original Marinid kasbah and the original Marinid mosque have been heavily obscured due to the Alaouite sultan Moulay Isma'il's monumental construction projects in the late 17th century as part of his creation of a new imperial city in Meknes. He expanded or rebuilt the Lalla Aouda Mosque, with construction taking place between 1672 and 1678. It became the first mosque of his new imperial capital, integrated into the palace known as Dar al-Kebira. The vast square on the northwest side of the mosque, known today as Place Lalla Aouda, was originally the main mechouar of Moulay Isma'il's palace: a square for military parades and other ceremonies attended by the sultan and his officials, off-limits to the general public.
Today the Dar al-Kebira palace is generally in ruins and overtaken by the houses of a residential neighbourhood among its remains, while Place Lalla Aouda is a public square. The mosque continued to undergo some work even in the 20th century and remains well-preserved.
The mosque is one of the largest in Meknes and is located southeast of the old medina, off the eastern end of the large square known as Place Lalla Aouda (named after it) located behind the monumental gate of Bab Mansour.
The mosque's main public entrance was on its northwest side, accessed from Place Lalla Aouda. Here, towards the eastern end of the square, are two gateways that lead to another small open square or courtyard which is identified as both a sahn (mosque courtyard) and a mechouar (ceremonial square typically found at the entrance of Moroccan royal palaces). This mechouar entrance to the mosque is a feature it shares with the Berrima Mosque in Marrakesh. The two gates on Place Lalla Aouda include a plain horseshoe-arch gateway in a slightly projecting portion of the ramparts, while to the left of this the second gateway has a more ornamental appearance. This second gateway is surrounded by colourful tilework (zellij), including an Arabic inscription in black letters near the top of the gateway. The inscription attributes the gate to Moulay Isma'il and dates the completion of the gate to the beginning of Jumada II in 1090 AH (1679 CE). The rectangular mechouar courtyard behind the gates appears to have been modified after Moulay Isma'il's reign and is planted with several orange trees. A wall fountain (saqqaya) decorated with green and white zellij tiles and sheltered by a wooden canopy is found on its southeast wall.
The space between the mechouar courtyard and the mosque itself, The southeast wall of the mechouar courtyard is pierced by several gates. The leftmost gate, near the center of the wall, leads to a passage going towards the mosque. The next door to the right of this leads to small narrow ablutions room, and to the right of this is a larger gate leading to what is now a rectangular prayer hall with a mihrab, measuring 11.09 by 8.19 meters. This prayer hall, however, used to be a madrasa, the remains of which were still present in the early 20th century. The last gate to the right leads to another passage towards the mosque. The passage was likely a later addition which required the demolition of the western part of the old madrasa, even before the 20th century.
Beyond these passages and rooms is a transverse corridor running along the north edge of the mosque. At its southwest end is the minaret and at the northeastern end is the entrance to the mosque's main ablutions house (Dar al-Wudu). The latter is a rectangular building centered around a courtyard with a rectangular water basin at its center. The courtyard is paved with zellij tiling. Around it are 13 latrine rooms accessed by small horseshoe-arch doorways.
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Lalla Aouda Mosque
The Lalla Aouda Mosque or Mosque of Lalla 'Awda (Arabic: مسجد لالة عودة, romanized: masjid lalla 'awda; Berber languages: ⵎⴻⵣⴳⵉⴷⴰ ⵍⴰⵍⴰ ⵄⴰⵡⴷⴰ, romanized: mezgita lalla 'awda) is a large historic mosque in Meknes, Morocco. It was originally the mosque of the Marinid kasbah (citadel) of the city, built in 1276, but was subsequently remodeled into the royal mosque of the Alaouite sultan Moulay Isma'il's imperial palace in the late 17th century.
The mosque was originally founded in 1276 CE by the Marinid sultan Abu Yusuf Ya'qub as the main mosque of the kasbah (citadel) which the sultan built that same year. It was thus originally known as the Mosque of the Kasbah (Jama' al-Qasba), whereas its current name (Mosque of Lalla Aouda) dates from the Saadian or Alaouite period (16th century or later). The name "Lalla Aouda" refers to Lalla Masuda, a waliya (saint) and the mother of the Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, to whom some accounts attribute the foundation of the mosque.
The remains of both the original Marinid kasbah and the original Marinid mosque have been heavily obscured due to the Alaouite sultan Moulay Isma'il's monumental construction projects in the late 17th century as part of his creation of a new imperial city in Meknes. He expanded or rebuilt the Lalla Aouda Mosque, with construction taking place between 1672 and 1678. It became the first mosque of his new imperial capital, integrated into the palace known as Dar al-Kebira. The vast square on the northwest side of the mosque, known today as Place Lalla Aouda, was originally the main mechouar of Moulay Isma'il's palace: a square for military parades and other ceremonies attended by the sultan and his officials, off-limits to the general public.
Today the Dar al-Kebira palace is generally in ruins and overtaken by the houses of a residential neighbourhood among its remains, while Place Lalla Aouda is a public square. The mosque continued to undergo some work even in the 20th century and remains well-preserved.
The mosque is one of the largest in Meknes and is located southeast of the old medina, off the eastern end of the large square known as Place Lalla Aouda (named after it) located behind the monumental gate of Bab Mansour.
The mosque's main public entrance was on its northwest side, accessed from Place Lalla Aouda. Here, towards the eastern end of the square, are two gateways that lead to another small open square or courtyard which is identified as both a sahn (mosque courtyard) and a mechouar (ceremonial square typically found at the entrance of Moroccan royal palaces). This mechouar entrance to the mosque is a feature it shares with the Berrima Mosque in Marrakesh. The two gates on Place Lalla Aouda include a plain horseshoe-arch gateway in a slightly projecting portion of the ramparts, while to the left of this the second gateway has a more ornamental appearance. This second gateway is surrounded by colourful tilework (zellij), including an Arabic inscription in black letters near the top of the gateway. The inscription attributes the gate to Moulay Isma'il and dates the completion of the gate to the beginning of Jumada II in 1090 AH (1679 CE). The rectangular mechouar courtyard behind the gates appears to have been modified after Moulay Isma'il's reign and is planted with several orange trees. A wall fountain (saqqaya) decorated with green and white zellij tiles and sheltered by a wooden canopy is found on its southeast wall.
The space between the mechouar courtyard and the mosque itself, The southeast wall of the mechouar courtyard is pierced by several gates. The leftmost gate, near the center of the wall, leads to a passage going towards the mosque. The next door to the right of this leads to small narrow ablutions room, and to the right of this is a larger gate leading to what is now a rectangular prayer hall with a mihrab, measuring 11.09 by 8.19 meters. This prayer hall, however, used to be a madrasa, the remains of which were still present in the early 20th century. The last gate to the right leads to another passage towards the mosque. The passage was likely a later addition which required the demolition of the western part of the old madrasa, even before the 20th century.
Beyond these passages and rooms is a transverse corridor running along the north edge of the mosque. At its southwest end is the minaret and at the northeastern end is the entrance to the mosque's main ablutions house (Dar al-Wudu). The latter is a rectangular building centered around a courtyard with a rectangular water basin at its center. The courtyard is paved with zellij tiling. Around it are 13 latrine rooms accessed by small horseshoe-arch doorways.