Mosque Yakub Al-Mansur and Khasan Tower

«Is it a mosque?!», – You ask, looking at a huge empty space, tired by columns with a tower in the middle in the historic center of Rabat? It is practically not reminiscent of an old mosque, which more than 800 years ago was to become the highest building of the Islamic world.

The hilly terrain in the northeast of the discount, where the mosque should stand, according to Emir Yakub al-Mansur, was suitable for these purposes most. The country in those days reached the greatest heyday.

In 1195 its construction began. But Al-Mansur died a few years after the start of construction, and he could not realize the conceived. 360 columns in 22 rows were already supplied to install a mosque roof. The Khasan Tower was not over, the diligent workers raised it about half the height-intended 80 meters, after which the construction stopped.

But, looking at this construction, no one else will come to the head of her dimensions: each side laid out by red bricks is 16 meters. All walls are decorated with oriental ornaments. The six-our tower, each level of which has complete content and so wide steps to make a mansour who has a lot of power, sitting on a luxury horse, could climb up and call his warlike colleagues to prayer.

The death of Emir became not the only obstacle, in 1775 there was a strong earthquake here: Morocco is in the zone of influence of atlas mountains, in which earthquakes are not uncommon.

Several centuries 44-meter tower and more than two hundred columns stood by weed. But at the beginning of the 20th century, the discount becomes the capital of the state, and the tower is a symbol of the city.

Any tourist is just obliged to visit Mosque Yakub al-Mansur and Khasan Tower – National Shrine Morocco.