The close relationship between Andalusia and Morocco explains that in this country you can discover monuments that will undoubtedly remind you of some of the monuments that will undoubtedly remind you of some of those in southern Spain.This is something that will appeal to Andalusian travelers but also to anyone else who has a special affection for this region or who has been a tourist there. This is a brief review of the most iconic ones.
The ‘giraldas’ of Morocco
La Giralda is the popular name given to the bell tower of the bell tower of the cathedral of Seville.. The temple is mainly Gothic and Baroque in style, but it was built on the old mosque and, in fact, some elements are preserved, such as the main section of the tower, up to the bell chamber, which was once a minaret. That section is dazzling due to the beauty and exoticism of its pattern of sebkaa decorative element typical of Almohad architecture of the 12th and 13th centuries, as can also be seen in other minaret towers of a very similar style: that of the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech and the Hassan Tower in Rabat.
The mosque of the Andalusians in Fez
In this mosque there are not so many stylistic parallels with other buildings in Andalusia, but the key is in the name: in Spanish the term de andalucesalthough in reality it could be considered a mistake and it would be more appropriate to speak of andalusí, as we explained in this other post of our blog.
And it is so called because its origin was decisively influenced by the Andalusian Andalusian citizens who were forced to emigrate from the Umayyad emirate of Córdoba after some social revolts in the year 818 and that, in fact, formed one of the main districts of the old medina of the old medina (Fez el-Bali).. What we see today is the result of much later expansions, mainly from the 13th century, but it is evident that in the 10th century the temple received significant patronage from the Cordoban caliphs and viziers, such as the famous Abderraman III and Almanzor.
The Almoravid Qubba of Marrakech
One of the oldest monuments in Marrakech, recently restored and open to visitors, is the 12th century Almoravid Qubba. Although it is not entirely certain what its original use was, it seems to have been used as a housed an ablutions fountain. In this case, the ‘connection’ with al-Andalus is in the main element of the monument, which gives it its name: the qubba or dome, which would be largely inspired by the dome of the Maqsura of the mosque of Cordoba..
Andalusian gardens of Rabat
Two gardens in Rabat can also be considered Andalusian monuments in Morocco. The first, the Andalusian garden next to the Kasbah of the Oudayas: although this fortification dates back to the 17th century, this green space of about 8,400 m2 of surface area was designed in the 20th century, during the French Protectorate.
The other Andalusian garden in Rabat dates back to the same period, in this case inside the Jardin d’Essais Botaniques (Botanical Garden of Aclimatation). In this case, it was the French landscape architect Claude Nicolas Forestier who designed a more general botanical enclosure, but in recent years it was decided to create this new space within the park which, in addition to its ornamental value, would serve as a study for the knowledge of Andalusian species and their application today.
In both gardens, the Andalusian taste for fountains and sheets of water, which give freshness to the space and are synonymous with purification and Eden, is appreciated, decorated in turn with colorful ceramic pieces. Around it, different streets and terraces with different species that, for sure, will remind the visitor of some of the most famous gardens of Andalusia, such as those of the Alhambra and the Generalife in Granada..
