Morocco Guide
Marrakesh
The Almoravid Koubba
Opening time: Daily: April– Sept 9am–7pm; Oct– March 9am–6pm
Price: Buy ticket at Marrakesh Museum
On the southern side of Place de la Kissaria, opposite the Ben Youssef Mosque, the Almoravid Koubba (Koubba Ba'adiyn) is a small, two-storey kiosk, recently restored, which at first seems little more than a grey dome and a handful of variously shaped doors and windows. Look closer, though, and you may begin to understand its significance and even fascination. For this is the only Almoravid building to survive intact in Morocco and its style is at the root of all Moroccan architecture. The motifs used in later buildings such as the nearby Ben Youssef Medersa – the pine cones, palms and acanthus leaves – were all carved here first. The windows on each of the different sides became the classic shapes of Almohad and Merenid design – as did the merlons, the Christmas tree-like battlements; the complex "ribs" on the outside of the dome; and the dome's interior support, a sophisticated device of a square and star-shaped octagon, which is itself repeated at each of its corners. Once you see all this, you're only a step away from the eulogies of Islamic art historians who sense in this building, which was probably a small ablutions annexe to the original Ben Youssef Mosque, a powerful and novel expression of form.
Excavated only in 1952, the koubba had previously been covered over amid the many rebuildings of the Ben Youssef Mosque. It was built well below today's ground level, which is well above its upper floor. You have to go down two flights of stairs to get to the level it was built at, now uncovered once again thanks to recent excavations. Once down there, you can also look around the attendant facilities, including a large water cistern, and remains of latrines and fountains for performing ablutions, much like those you will still find adjacent to many Moroccan mosques.