page_title: Moroccan architecture
section_title: City gates
hierarchical_section_title: Moroccan architecture / Types of structures / Military architecture / City gates
caption_attribution_description: English: Bab Debbagh, the eastern gate of the Marrakesh medina. An elaborate bent entrance, the passage of the gate turns 90 degrees once and 180 degrees twice. Français&#160;: Bab Debbagh, porte orientale de Marrakech. La porte a un passage coudée et complexe; elle tourne à 90 degrés une fois, puis 180 degrés deux fois.
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: A complex bent passage in the Bab Debbagh gate of Marrakesh
exif: {"Image Make": "FUJIFILM", "Image Model": "X20", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Digital Camera X20 Ver1.02", "Image DateTime": "2014:12:21 12:42:37", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "238", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 50, 53, 48, 0, 0, 3, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0, ... ]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1890", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5343", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/300", "EXIF FNumber": "5/2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "400", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Standard Output Sensitivity", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:12:21 12:42:37", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:12:21 12:42:37", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "16/5", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "33/4", "EXIF ApertureValue": "13/5", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "227/50", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "2", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "71/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4000", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3000", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1618", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "4545", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "4545", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "-110"}