Bab Mansour
Interesting facts
- According to legend, the sultan asked the finished gate's architect whether he could build something finer, and had him executed when he answered yes.
- Below the cornice, thirteen tiled panels carry a sixteen-verse Arabic poem praising Moulay Abdallah; its author is unknown, though its religious references suggest a scholar.
- The gate stands about 16 metres high, and its horseshoe arch opening measures roughly 8 metres.
- Its basic form follows Almohad gateways of the 12th and 13th centuries, such as Bab Agnaou in Marrakesh and the gate of the Kasbah of the Udayas in Rabat.
- Covering a monumental city gate with colourful zellij mosaic was itself a novelty in Moroccan architecture when Bab Mansour was built.
- In the 19th century a loggia was added beside the gate, and it became the seat where the city's governor heard complaints and settled disputes.
- Into the early 20th century, the city's military chiefs gathered at the gate every week to lunch with the pasha after Friday prayers.
- The bent passage runs between the double walls of the royal Kasbah and opens onto the square of Lalla Aouda beyond.
- The French writer Pierre Loti compared the gate's decorated face to a precious tapestry hung over ancient stone.
- The gate has been a protected monument since 1914 and is part of the Historic City of Meknes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.
Why it is worth it
Meknes was chosen by Sultan Moulay Isma'il, who ruled Morocco from the late seventeenth century, as the seat of his power, and turned it into an imperial city of walls, gates and palace grounds. Bab Mansour was to be the formal entrance to his royal citadel, facing the great square of el-Hedim on the edge of the old town. Work began in the last years of his reign; the gate was completed in 1732 under his son Moulay Abdallah, as a painted tile inscription on the façade records.
Tradition credits the design to Mansour al-'Alj, a former Christian captive who converted to Islam, and the gate still carries his name. It was never really meant for defence. The horseshoe-arched opening is flanked by square bastions fronted by open loggias on thick, squat corner columns, and set into them are tall marble columns with Composite capitals that were carried here from the Roman ruins of Volubilis nearby. Behind the arch the passage bends twice at right angles, an old Moroccan device kept here for tradition rather than for siege.
The real splendour is the surface. Almost every part of the façade is covered in darj-wa-ktaf, the interlaced lozenge net of Moroccan ornament, raised in relief and filled with polychrome zellij mosaic; painted arabesque tiles fill the spandrels of the arch, and a band of calligraphy and a crest of saw-tooth merlons finish the top. In low late-afternoon light the relief throws shadows and the tilework reads from right across the square, which in the evening fills with food stalls and strolling families. The interior of the gate is usually shut, occasionally opening for exhibitions.
Getting there
Bab Mansour stands on the south side of Place el-Hedim in the old city of Meknes, about 1.5 km from the modern centre. The nearest airport is Fes Saïss International Airport (FEZ), about 55 km away. Meknes is a stop on the main railway between Fez and Rabat, with trains continuing to Casablanca and Marrakesh; from the station it is a short taxi ride to the square.
Plan your visit
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Nearby places
- Volubilis 19.8 km · archaeological-site
On these lists
From the encyclopaedia
Bab Mansur al-'Alj or Bab Mansour is a monumental gate in the city of Meknes, Morocco. Located on the south side of Place el-Hedim in the old city, it was originally the main ceremonial entrance to the Kasbah of Sultan Moulay Isma'il, built in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Today it is one of the most famous and admired landmarks in the city.
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