Bab Aghmat
| Bab Aghmat | |
|---|---|
باب أغمات | |
 Bab Aghmat in the early 20th century | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | city gate |
| Architectural style | Almoravid, Moorish, Moroccan |
| Location | Marrakesh, Morocco |
| Coordinates | 31°37′25.2″N 7°58′29.4″W / 31.623667°N 7.974833°W |
| Completed | circa 1126 |
Bab Aghmat (Arabic: باب أغمات, lit. 'gate of Aghmat') is the main southeastern gate of the medina (historic walled city) of Marrakesh, Morocco.
Description
[edit]The gate originally dates back to around 1126 when the Almoravid ruler Ali ibn Yusuf built the first walls of the city, but it has been modified since this time.[1] It was named after Aghmat, the early capital of the Almoravids before Marrakesh, which lay in this direction (i.e. to the south/southeast). The gate may have also been called Bab Yintan, though this is uncertain and this name may have referred to another nearby gate which has since disappeared.[1][2]
Like other Almoravid gates of the city, it has been significantly modified since its initial construction. Originally, it most likely consisted of a bent passage which effected a full 180-degree turn, forming a symmetrical structure around the axis of the wall: one entered from the west through a bastion on the outer side of the city wall, passing through a roofed vestibule, then exited westwards from the bastion on the inner side of the wall, passing through an open-air court.[1][3] In a much later period a walled courtyard with a very different construction style was added on the outer end of the gate, forcing traffic to effect one more 180-degree turn (though in recent times the northern wall of this courtyard has been knocked down to allow a more direct passage).[1] A staircase in the northeastern corner of the gatehouse leads to the roof.[1]
A major cemetery, the Bab Aghmat Cemetery, occupies a wide area just outside the gate and is also flanked to the west by the Jewish cemetery of the city's Mellah.[4] Also near the gate and the cemetery is the Mausoleum of Sidi Yusuf ibn Ali, one of the Seven Saints of Marrakesh.[2][3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Allain, Charles; Deverdun, Gaston (1957). "Les portes anciennes de Marrakech". Hespéris. 44: 85–126. Archived from the original on 2021-02-28. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
- ^ a b Deverdun, Gaston (1959). Marrakech: Des origines à 1912. Rabat: Éditions Techniques Nord-Africaines.
- ^ a b Wilbaux, Quentin (2001). La médina de Marrakech: Formation des espaces urbains d'une ancienne capitale du Maroc. Paris: L'Harmattan. ISBN 2747523888.
- ^ Gottreich, Emily (2007). The Mellah of Marrakesh: Jewish and Muslim Space in Morocco's Red City. Indiana University Press. pp. 116–118.