When leaving the medina of Rabat to the southeast you can find an unusual building conglomerate on a hill: the unfinished minaret of an unfinished mosque next to the mausoleum of Mohammed V. A tower with a large field of columns next to an important grave. In the 12th century CE, Yaqub al-Mansur, the ruler of the Almohad empire requested the construction of the largest mosque in all Maghreb states. When he died in 1199 CE the construction works were stopped immediately and you can still see that state today.
The minaret was planned to be 80 meters high, but it only reached 44 meters and is today named after Hassan II who is buried in the mausoleum with his father. Underneath the tower the archive of the Almohad dynasty has been created later. Even if the original mosque was never finalized there is now one next to the mausoleum. Don’t miss the opportunity to look into the valley behind this hill: you’ll discover grand theatre designed by Zaha Hadid and the very modern Tour Mohammed VI used for banking business.
Hassan tower
Rabat
Morocco
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