The kasbah of Tangier was built right after the city was evacuated by the English in 1684 and reclaimed by Morocco. The sultan of Morocco, Moulay Ismail, supported the city's resettlement and commissioned its reconstruction, overseen by its new governor, Ali ibn Abdallah Errifi. As the English blew up the city's fortifications before leaving, the city's defenses had to be almost entirely rebuilt. One part of this reconstruction involvedestablishing the Moroccan government's seat of power in the city within a self-contained fortified district, the kasbah. This district had its own walls and gates, within which was a palace, a governor's residence, a treasury, a courthouse, prisons, stables, residential quarters for the military, a parade ground, and a mosque. The mosque of the kasbah of Tangier was thus built by Ali Errifi, under Moulay Ismail's reign in the late 17th century. The mosque was expanded by Errifi's grandson, Ahmed, who added its minaret and ornate entrance. Its prayer hall was expanded under Sultan Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman, who ruled between 1859 and 1873. It was restored around 1889 for the visit of Sultan Moulay Hassan I. In 1921, the official in charge of religious foundations in the region restored the mosque but covered up much of its original decoration in the process, using new colors. Some of this cover-up has been cleared in recent years during renovations that finished around 2015.
Description
The mosque is adjacent to the palace complex of the kasbah, directly to its south. The mosque's interior is relatively plain, with white walls and rows of white Moorish arches. It has a nearly plain mihrab, and its small rectangular courtyard is not open to the sky but is roofed over. Its most distinguished elements are on the exterior. The entrance is on Ibn Abbou Street, sheltered under a small arched passageway covering the street at this point. The doorway, also shaped like a Moorish arch, is decorated with typical radiating geometric motifs whose empty spaces are filled with colorful zellij tilework. The minaret, rising above the entrance, is notable for having an octagonal shaft and for its decoration. Its facades are decorated with ornate blind arches, filled again with multicolored zellij tilework, and panels of sebka geometric motifs.
