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Hassan Tower is the minaret of an incomplete mosque begun in 1195. The tower was intended to be the largest minaret in the world along with the mosque, also intended to be the world's largest. In 1199, Sultan Yacoub al-Mansour died and construction on the mosque stopped. The tower only reached 44 m, about half of its intended 86 m height. The rest of the mosque was also left incomplete, with only the beginnings of several walls and 200 columns being constructed

Museum

Ficus benjamina, commonly known as weeping fig

Remnants of wall at Hassan Tower

The tower, made of red sandstone, along with the remains of the

mosque and the modern Mausoleum

of Mohammed V, forms an important historical and tourist

complex in Rabat

Guards at Hassan Tower

Instead of stairs, the tower is ascended by ramps

The minaret's ramps would have allowed the muezzin to ride a horse to the top of the tower to issue the call to prayer

The mosque was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755, and today only this tower and a forest of shattered pillars testifies to the grandiosity of al-Mansour’s plans

Islamic religious architecture. Traditional golden decorations with the emblem of Morocco on gilded lamp in front of mausoleum

The tower, according to some traditions, was designed by Jabir ibn Aflah, an astronomer and mathematician who was supposed to have also designed Hassan's sister tower, the Giralda of Seville in Al Andalus (modern day Spain)

Both of the towers (Giralda of Seville And Hassan) were modeled on the minaret based on the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech

Aziz

Yaqub al-Mansur conducted other works in Rabat, most notably reconstruction of the Kasbah of the Udayas and conversion of the Chellah ancient complex, built by the Phoenicians and Romans, to a necropolis usage

The Mausoleum of Mohammed V is a historical building located on the opposite side of the Hassan Tower

The Museum of the Mausoleum is also located on the opposite side of the Hassan Tower

Walls at Hassan Tower

Remnants of wall at Hassan Tower

Guards

Text: InternetPictures: Sanda Foişoreanu Sanda Negruțiu InternetCopyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuhttps://plus.google.com/+SandaMichaela

Sound: Saïd Chraïbi - Nagumate Chaâbya 2016