page_title: Moroccan architecture
section_title: City gates
hierarchical_section_title: Moroccan architecture / Types of structures / Military architecture / City gates
caption_attribution_description: English: A Gate to the Casbah of Tangier, Morocco Deutsch: Ein Tor der Kasbah von Tanger
context_page_description: Moroccan architecture refers to the architecture characteristic of Morocco throughout its history and up to modern times. The country's diverse geography and long history, marked by successive waves of settlers through both migration and military conquest, are all reflected in its architecture. This architectural heritage ranges from ancient Roman and Berber sites to 20th-century colonial and modern architecture.
  The most recognizably "Moroccan" architecture, however, is the traditional architecture that developed in the Islamic period which dominates much of Morocco's documented history and its existing heritage. This "Islamic architecture" of Morocco was part of a wider cultural and artistic complex, often referred to as "Hispano-Moorish" art, which characterized Morocco, al-Andalus, and parts of Algeria and even Tunisia. It blended influences from Berber culture in North Africa, pre-Islamic Spain, and contemporary artistic currents in the Islamic Middle East to elaborate a unique style over centuries with recognizable features such as the "Moorish" arch, riad gardens, and elaborate geometric and arabesque motifs in wood, stucco, and tilework.
context_section_description: As in medieval fortifications elsewhere in the world, Moroccan city walls were pierced with a number of gates to grant access in and out of the city. As these were often the weakest points of a defensive wall, they were usually more heavily fortified than the surrounding wall. Most medieval Moroccan gates had a bent entrance: their passage made sharp right-angle turns once or multiple times in order to slow down any attackers. They ranged from very plain in appearance to highly monumental and ornamental. Many of the most monumental gates still standing today were built in stone during the Almohad period, including Bab Agnaou in Marrakesh and the gate of the Udayas Kasbah in Rabat. As the defensive function of city walls and gates became less relevant in the modern era, gates became more ornamental and symbolic structures, like the Bab Bou Jeloud gate built in Fes in 1913.
caption: Entrance to the Kasbah of Tangier
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