Berber treasures
In the Drâa, Dades and Ziz valleys, on the mountainside or in the heart of the oases (irrigated by an ingenious system of underground canals and wells draining water from springs and groundwater called khettara), all the treasures of Berber architecture are deployed, designed to integrate perfectly into its environment and adapt to the constraints of the terrain and climate. Made of adobe(tobb in Arabic), dry stones (river pebbles, rubble) and wood (oak, pine, thuja, palm), these constructions are powerful and sober witnesses of a resolutely defensive architecture. At the origins was the tighremt or agadir, an astonishing fortified granary mentioned from the Roman period. It can be dug as high as possible in the rock of a steep peak or take the form of a small fortified structure whose thick walls and corner turrets protect a central courtyard around which several floors of cells or individual granaries are spread out where each family stores its food. The granary of Ighrem N'Ougdal impresses with its adobe structure resting on a stone base and its cells with doors painted with Berber motifs and closed by wooden locks with chiseled decoration, just like that of Imilchil with its rhombuses and chevrons painted on a whitewashed background. Isolated, these granaries can also be integrated into the ksour, the typical fortified villages of the Great Moroccan South. When they are built on the mountainside, they are often tiered to follow the unevenness of the relief, the granary being at the highest point. Models of political and urban organization, the ksour, surrounded by powerful blind walls with a single entrance defended by a barbican, are organized around a large public square, around which we find the key community elements (wells, granaries, mosque, medersa ...) The areas of threshing cereals and the various crops in tiers are usually outside the walls. Depending on the size of the ksour, a single central alley or a whole labyrinth of alleys reveal an individual habitat mixing small cubic houses nested in each other and stately homes organized around a patio. In all cases, these houses offer blind walls to the street to better open up to the sky thanks to imposing terraces.
Last key element of this Berber defense system: the legendary kasbah. Isolated fortress or constituent element of a ksar, the kasbah impresses. With a polygonal plan, most often square, the kasbah is protected by imposing crenellated walls pierced by loopholes or narrow grilled windows or closed by moucharabiehs carved in wood, and flanked by corner towers that look like truncated obelisks, whose slenderness towards the top offers a surge of height to this architecture that is massive to say the least. A monumental gate guarantees access, while courtyards, patios and covered corridors create a maze protecting the various living spaces, the tamesriyt or guest room being the most important. As austere as these kasbahs seem, they are nevertheless the object of an astonishing decorative concern, notably in the upper parts of the towers and walls often whitewashed. Checkerboards, triangles, chevrons are all geometric patterns that are chiseled, incised or obtained by a clever arrangement of mud bricks. Among the other decorative features of these kasbahs, let us note the work carried out for the wooden frames and ceilings whose arrangement of the beams is imagined in order to create, in trompe-l'oeil, an effect of depth (these wooden frames and branches can also be covered with earth as in the houses of Ouirgane and thus offer insulation and ventilation); the doors with leaves with upper parts decorated with arcatures and lower parts composed of elegant ironwork; and the keys and locks mixing engraved wood and chiseled iron. There are so many splendors to discover that it seems impossible to mention them all, but among the must-sees, do not miss : the ksar of Aït-Ben-Haddou, classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site; the ksar of Oulad Abdelhalim; the Kasbah of Taourirt, which houses the Center for the Conservation and Rehabilitation of the Architectural Heritage of the Atlas and sub-Alasic zones; the Kasbah of Telouet with harem and reception room enhanced by an Arab-Andalusian decoration where stucco, zelliges (ceramics) and painted ceilings are mixed; or the Kasbah of Tifoultoute. The ochre-colored silhouettes of these fortified structures respond to the colorful shades of the desert where the tents of the nomads can be seen here and there. Their roof is made of a velum composed of woven and sewn strips resting on one or two ridge beams and stretched and fixed to the ground by stakes. The gap left between the sand and the fabric to prevent damage is often filled with brush. To insulate the whole from the wind, a long woven band of wool, cotton or gorse is placed around the tent. It is the object of all the decorative attention. The interior is organized like that of a house, the main and most furnished space being that reserved for the guests.
Urban art
Surrounding the city for about ten kilometers, the walls of Marrakech are a masterpiece of earthen architecture. Of a reddish adobe, they are pierced by 10 monumental doors(bab) witnessing an astonishing mixture of military engineering and art of decoration. See the famous Bab Agnaou with its superposition of various arches (horseshoe, broken, round arch) creating an effect of movement reinforced by the elegant kufic elements carved in the red and green sandstone framing it. Also made of adobe, the powerful crenellated walls of Taroudant impress with their multiple bastions and their 5 monumental doors... they earned the city the nickname of "little Marrakech"! Tiznit is surrounded by nearly 6 km of crenellated walls made of pink adobe. These walls protect the medinas with their labyrinthine streets. Let's take the time to stroll in the medina of Marrakech, classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Its alleys lead to the souks that can be recognized by their wooden, reed or palm tree shelters protecting the inhabitants from the harshness of the sun. Further on, beautiful vaulted or corbelled passages will lead you to a square adorned with a fountain with superb decorations of carved wood, arches with stalactites or colored ceramics, such as the Mouassine Fountain, whose rustling water echoes the muffled sounds coming from the baths and hammams, we can recognize them by their domes often pierced with star-shaped openings allowing steam to escape and especially by their tadelakt wall, a coating made of lime tinted with natural pigments and polished with pebbles to give it a smooth and shiny appearance close to stone and designed to absorb moisture from the walls. Hammams El-Bacha and Bab-Doukkala are two beautiful examples. New arched passages will lead you to fondouks, these warehouse-hotels, whose first floor is occupied by a store and thefirst floor by a gallery serving the rooms. Marrakech has nearly a hundred of them. But the city is best known for its legendary riads. Behind imposing doors elegantly decorated with ironwork and carved woodwork, paintings and impressive copper nails, and blind walls, a unique and intimate universe is discovered. Everything is done inside, around a garden cut into 4 beds by 2 alleys paved with zellige (small fragments of ceramics of various colors juxtaposed to form decorative patterns and fixed with mortar) which cross around a basin or a fountain. This oasis of coolness is bordered by galleries serving the different rooms of the house. It is this garden that distinguishes the riads from the dars, simple one-story houses organized around an open interior courtyard, and also made of adobe bricks. The roofs of these houses are usually terraced and their juxtaposition creates a second suspended city. Next to this bustling medina stands another important district, the mellah or old Jewish quarter, which can be recognized by its high mud brick buildings decorated with wrought iron balconies.
The sumptuous gardens of Marrakech often go hand in hand with magnificent royal palaces, such as the famous Bahia Palace with its incredible painted, gilded and inlaid wooden ceilings and the large courtyard of honor paved with marble and decorated with zelliges, a masterpiece of Hispano-Moorish architecture. These 19th century palaces are precious witnesses of the know-how of the maalem, the famous Moroccan craftsmen. Of the legendary El-Badi Palace, nicknamed "the Incomparable", whose construction in the sixteenth century had required the work of hundreds of craftsmen from Black Africa, Europe and even India and which could boast 360 rooms decorated with the finest materials, there is little left ... Moulay Ismail literally stripped the palace of its marble, onyx, gold, ivory and precious woods to build the palaces of Meknes, his new fief! This decorative abundance was permitted because the sovereigns used sugar, which was invaluable at the time, as a currency of exchange. On the road to Chemaia, you will discover the remains of an aqueduct that fed a large sugar factory in the 16th century. At the height of production, the region had nearly 15 sugar factories and many aqueducts. Astonishing!
Splendors of Islam
In the heart of its medina, Marrakech is home to true treasures of Islamic architecture, starting with the famous Koutoubia, one of the largest mosques in the Muslim West with its 16 identical parallel naves and its wider median nave. But to the abundant ornamentation dear to the Almoravids, and that we can still observe in the minbar (pulpit for preaching) with its thousands of pieces of cedar inlaid with silver and decorated with carved calligraphic motifs and sumptuous elements of marquetry, the Almohads preferred a less "extravagant" style, but still made an important place for the decoration, as shown by the 11 domes with stalactites (or muqarnas) and the capitals and frames molded and decorated with geometric, floral or calligraphic motifs. The flagship element of the Koutoubia is of course its minaret, a real sentinel of the desert that watches over the city from the top of its 77 m, and that we can recognize by the 4 spheres (jammour) of decreasing size and covered, it is said, with the gold of the jewels of the wife of Sultan Yacoub el-Mansour. The other superb and famous mosque of this Great Moroccan South is the mosque of Tinmel. Built in memory of the founder of the Almohad dynasty, the mosque combines a sobriety typical of the region (surrounding walls) and an elegant and refined decoration (stucco ceilings, ceramic domes, paving of the floor). And look carefully at the unique layout of the minaret placed above the mihrab (niche indicating Mecca).
The tombs and mausoleums are among the other splendors of Islam not to be missed. In Marrakech, the Koubba el-Barudiyne is the only large intact vestige of the Almoravid period. Built in stone and brick, this koubba impresses by its ribbed dome and by its rich decoration made of rosettes, various arcatures, and inside, beautiful sculpted marbles. This magnificence does not equal that of the incredible tombs erected by the Saadian dynasty. Delicacy of decoration, harmony and purity of lines characterize these masterpieces of funerary art, of which one can admire the room with 12 columns of Carrara marble supporting a dome in gilded cedar. Moulay Ismaïl was so impressed by these tombs that he decided to preserve them... taking care, however, to enclose them in high walls! A decorative richness that can be found in the mausoleum of Tamegroute. Paved with mosaics, covered with vaults panelled with gold, it houses the remains of the scholar Sidi Mohammed Ben Nacer. A sumptuousness of the decoration which contrasts with the sobriety of the marabouts, the modest mausoleums of the great saints which are most often characterized by simple cubic volumes. The medersa or Koranic school is the other key element of Islamic architecture. The Ben Youssef Medersa in Marrakech is undoubtedly one of the most famous in the country. The jewel of the school is its central courtyard decorated with a large white marble basin and lined with pillars forming an elegant portico. Friezes, brackets and green glazed tiles crown the facades, which are themselves pierced by carved cedar wood doors. The haram, the teaching and prayer room, is covered by a dome with a pyramidal roof of green tiles. On the first floor, the galleries are closed by beautiful wooden balustrades reminiscent of moucharabiehs and ensure the privacy of the students. In general, the spaces and volumes have been thought out with precision in order to allow ventilation and insulation, while maintaining a balanced exposure to light. In addition to this, there is a rich decoration made of polychrome ceramics, marquetry and sculpted stucco and plasterwork. An enchantment!
Modern and contemporary influences
After having inspired the Hispano-Moorish decorations of the architecture of past centuries, the Spaniards added a very "neo-colonial" touch to the region in the 1930s, particularly in Sid Ifni and Laâyoune, where numerous whitewashed buildings punctuated by arcades and lining streets that are now laid out in a straight line. A rigorous and geometrical urbanism that can be found in the new city of Marrakech. Created under the French Protectorate, the Guéliz district takes its name from the sandstone extracted from the quarries located in the neighboring hills. Designed by Henri Prost, General Lyautey's architect, this "new city" follows the codes of European urban planning with an orderly, gridded plan drawn by imposing arteries. Well-to-do families had elegant villas built, oscillating between neo-classical and neo-Moorish styles, and the modernity of the Art Deco style, with its simple volumes and pure lines. A purity of volumes that also characterizes the new Agadir. In 1960, the city was ravaged by an earthquake that killed 15,000 people, left 20,000 homeless and destroyed nearly 3,650 buildings. Faced with this disaster, King Mohammed V declared: "If fate has decided to destroy Agadir, its reconstruction depends on our faith and our will. This is how, only two years after the disaster, the city was rebuilt... but this time, it was rebuilt further south to avoid any risk of new earthquakes. Mohammed V Avenue became the new main artery of the city, cutting it in two: on one side, the modern urban center, and on the other, the tourist area by the sea. The new neighborhoods are separated by numerous green spaces and connected by new road and pedestrian access. Taking advantage of the sometimes uneven topography of the area, the new Agadir unfolds according to the levels and slopes, offering superb panoramas everywhere. The reconstruction was also an opportunity for the city to become a champion of modernism. The plans of the new city were designed by Mourad Ben Emabrek, an emblematic figure of Moroccan modernism; while the Administrative Court was designed by Elie Azagury, a member of the CIAM founded by Le Corbusier, who advocated sobriety, robustness and improvement of the living conditions of the inhabitants. But it was a Frenchman (born in Morocco!) who left his mark on the city. A fervent defender of brutalism and a disciple of Wright and Niemeyer, Jean-François Zevaco designed some of the city's most emblematic buildings: the Central Post Office, whose sculptural concrete silhouette houses elegant cedar decorations; the fire station, a concrete crown flanked by an impressive campanile; and above all, the "banded villas" for which he was awarded the Aga Khan Prize for architecture. The latter responded to an urgent need for low-cost housing. Anxious to combine tradition and modernity, Zevaco imagined low, flat-roofed houses flanked by patios and bathed in light and vegetation... as an echo of the simplicity of the cubic volumes of the small houses of the medinas. A "regionalist" approach that can be found in the new Al Massira airport in Agadir designed by Michel Pinseau. The lush Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech, where Louis Majorelle's large workshop is nestled with its pergolas and arbors covered in a piercing blue, is a landmark with an almost mystical aura. Since 2017, it has been home to the Yves Saint-Laurent Museum (the fashion designer bought the garden and the villa!) designed by Studio KO. Admire its facade made of an assembly of cubes dressed with bricks that under the effect of light and amazing play of textures give a "lace" effect. Many other museums and cultural places invest the restored fondouks. Among the other beautiful contemporary achievements, we must of course mention the city's new airport with its white volumes with geometric and honeycomb patterns, its large dome, its walkways and pedestrian esplanades that are reminiscent of the typical urban planning of Arab cities. Very popular, the riads are subject to transformation and restoration, like the Villa Makassar, which takes its name from a precious wood, and which has been entirely redesigned in the Art Deco spirit. The legendary kasbahs are also the subject of numerous restorations, sometimes transforming themselves into sumptuous luxury cases... or the art of giving a second life to this legendary heritage!
