Qoubba of the Almoravids

The only testimony to Almoravid religious architecture in Marrakech, this rectangular building, circumscribed by four pillars, is surmounted by a dome decorated on the outside with a sculpted decoration of arcades topped with chevrons which frame a heptagonal star. This decoration is close to those found on the dome of the al-Qarawiyine mosque in Fez (859-1135) or the Qahwat Al-Qubba in Sousse (11th-12th). In the upper parts of the building there are openings decorated with arches of varied shapes. We find similar uses in terms of the variety of arches and decoration in the Bab AlMardum mosque in Toledo. The interior of the Qoubbat recalls the art of the Caliphate era in Andalusia. Large polylobed horseshoe arches placed directly on the square cornice constitute the framework of the dome with rich floral decoration incised around a strongly projecting shell. This motif, very present in antiquity, recalls. a very rich past and the numerous exchanges between West and East.