The Mouassine Fountain is a part of the 16th-century religious complex of the
Mouassine Mosque in
Marrakesh
Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
,
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
. The tradition of building public fountains in Marrakesh is old but took on a very monumental character in the
Saadian era.
History
The Mouassine Mosque complex was built between 1562-63
CE (970
AH) and 1572-73 CE (980 AH) on the orders of the Saadian sultan
Abdallah Al-Ghalib
Abdallah al-Ghalib Billah (; b. 1517 – d. 22 January 1574, 1557–1574) was the second Saadian sultan of Morocco. He succeeded his father Mohammed al-Shaykh as Sultan of Morocco.
Biography
Early life
With his first wife Sayyida Rabia, ...
.
It includes a
mosque
A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard.
Originally, mosques were si ...
, a library, a ''mîdhâ'' (
ablutions facility), a
hammam
A hammam (), also often called a Turkish bath by Westerners, is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited from the model ...
and the Mouassine Fountain. It also included a
children's Qur'anic school (''msid'') which no longer retains its function today. The fountain is one of the largest in the medina of Marrakesh, along with the fountain of the
Bab Doukkala Mosque and the
Shrob ou Shouf Fountain, both also from the Saadian period. It is located in the north of the ablutions room of the Mouassine mosque.
Function
The presence of the water supply system necessary for the ''mîdhâ'' and the hammam led the Saadian architects to build open fountains with drinking troughs near the mosques. So, it was a question of ensuring the supplying of the district with drinking water, while registering this act in its religious dimension since giving to drink constitutes in the
Muslim world
The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...
one of the most honorable alms.
The fountain is inserted next to three arches which gave access to drinking troughs for animals. The large fountain was reserved for humans while the two drinking troughs next to it; covered with vaults and opening onto the street by three arches, were used, at the time, to water the animals, especially donkeys.
Architecture and ornamentation
The medina of Marrakesh has 45 public drinking fountains. Depending on its location, each fountain has a monumental or a modest appearance. Large fountains, like that of Mouassine, abundantly decorated, are located next to mosques and/or mausoleums. These require the attribution of an architectural and decorative aspect to their annexes such as fountains. On the other hand, small neighborhoods must also have autonomy and access to water, their size therefore depends on the size of the neighborhood, some of them are decorated while others are much simpler.
The Mouassine Fountain is rectangular in shape and consists of a large opening resembling a
corbel arch
A corbel arch (or corbeled / corbelled arch) is an arch-like construction method that uses the architecture, architectural technique of corbeling to span a space or void in a structure, such as an entranceway in a wall or as the span of a bridge ...
. The arch is made out of wood and a projecting canopy of carved wood hangs above it. Next to it are three other large arches which contained the drinking troughs. All together, these four arches occupy a rectangular space measuring 18.1 meters long and 4.7 meters wide. The fountain arch has piers that support two plaster consoles on which rest corbels and three lintels protected by a canopy. The whole is in cedar wood decorated with
painted and chiseled floral motifs.
Inside above on a horizontal beam, a large carved plaster frieze features a geometric pattern of an eight-pointed star called "Mtemmen maa'kous". This geometric motif is inserted between two small friezes, narrower and also in carved plaster, repeat the eulogy "العز لله" meaning "The glory is to God".
Above, on the wooden beam, an inscription was painted in black on a plaster frieze that no longer exists today. It is visible in an old photograph in the book “Things seen in Morocco” by
Alec John Dawson (P. 207) and its restitution was possible thanks to the reproduction of A. Bernard figured in the book “Picturesque and monumental geography” (P. 206). The inscription says:
بُشْرَى فَقَدْ أَنْجَزَ اُلإِقْبَالُ ما وَعَدَا ***** وَكَوْكَبُ اُلمَجْدِ في أُفْقِ العُلا صَعِدَا
" Good news ! By a favorable fate the promises are fulfilled; and the star of glory rises on the horizon of nobility. "
The corbels are decorated with a carved and
painted pattern, however the polychromy is not very visible.
Above the crows, on the first lintel, an inscription is chiseled on two cartridges says:
أَحْسَنُ ما صُرِفَ فيه المَقال ***** الحَمْدُ للَّهِ على كُلِّ حــال
“The most beautiful words that have been spoken (are): Praise be to God in all circumstances! "
Water source: ''khettara''
To supply drinking water to the fountains of the medina as well as the ablution rooms of mosques, hammams and sometimes large houses, the
Almoravids
The Almoravid dynasty () was a Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus, starting in the 1050s and lasting until its fall to the Almo ...
built an original
hydraulic system
Hydraulics () is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counterpart of pneumatics, which concer ...
called
''khettara''.
It is an underground drainage tunnel that brings water from the groundwater to the surface of the ground, then distributes it throughout the city and irrigates
crop
A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. In other words, a crop is a plant or plant product that is grown for a specific purpose such as food, Fiber, fibre, or fuel.
When plants of the same spe ...
s.
It consists of a set of vertical wells connected to a slightly sloping drainage tunnel that conveys the water to cisterns or reservoirs. The shafts are used to dig the underground tunnel. And when the construction is finished, they play a role of ventilation and facilitate access to the tunnel for maintenance.
Climate change has caused a drop in the level of
water table
The water table is the upper surface of the phreatic zone or zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater, which may be fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the loc ...
s and the increase in population has resulted in an increase in
urban planning
Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...
. This system is therefore no longer sufficient and has consequently been abandoned. However, the ''khettara'' are considered a Moroccan heritage and there have been calls to preserve them.
References
{{Marrakesh
Fountains in Morocco
Buildings and structures in Marrakesh
Tourist attractions in Marrakesh
Saadian architecture