Andalusian Mosque or Mosque of the Andalusians is a major historic mosque in Fes el Bali, the old medina quarter of Fez, Morocco. The mosque was founded in 859-860, making it one of the oldest mosques in Morocco. It is located at the heart of a district which was historically associated with Andalusi immigrants, from which it takes its name. It has been renovated and expanded several times since then. Today, it is one of the relatively few remaining Idrisid-era establishments and one of the main landmarks of the city.
Description
The mosque was established in 859-860 by the Andalusian refugees from the city ofCordoba, under the sponsorship of Maryam bint Mohammed bin Abdullah. In 818, around hundreds of families fled Cordoba from the successive repressions after their rebellion against the Umayyads. They settled in the eastern bank of the Fes River which used to be the settlement known as Al-'Aliya. The refugees began building the large Friday mosque in the area soon after the migration. The original construction was modest; according to the 12th-century Andalusian geographer Al-Bakri, the mosque consisted of seven vaults and a small sahn where a walnut tree and several other trees were planted. The mosque had access to abundant water from an artificial water channel known as Wadi Masmuda. In the 10th century, the Umayyads of Cordoba erected the minaret which survives up until today. The minaret is square-shaped and has simple decorations on its frame. It is built to resemble the minaret of the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque. During the rule of Obaidullah, a governor of Fez during the Fatimid-era, the mosque became the place for khutbah during the Friday Prayer, replacing the position of the Mosque of Al-Ashyakh which was the first mosque built in the eastern settlement. Muhammad al-Nasir, the fourth Almohad caliph, ordered the construction of the gate during 1203-1207 which overlooks the northern facade. The gate is topped by two domes, one of which is built of carved plasters and another is built of cedar wood, and decorated by the combination of wooden zellij and qashani works. It was restored during the Alaouite period. Several historians, artists, and scholars, including the orientalist :fr:Georges Marçais|Georges Marçais praised the architecture as a masterpiece of Moroccan architectural style. The caliph built as well a water tank, a fountain on the northern facade of the building which resembles that of the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque, and an apartment made of stone for the imams of the mosque on the second floor above the prayer hall for women. During the Marinid period, several parts of the building including the ceiling, beams, and fountain were restored. The mosque also provided seven courses for education and contained two libraries, similar to the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque, making it the second most important mosque in the medina of Fez.
