Mosque of the Cat

De Mosque of the Cat (Arabic: مسجد القطة, romanized: masjid al-qiṭṭa; anaa جامع القطة) be a historic mosque insyd Marrakesh, Morocco. Na dem sanso identify am insyd sam scholarly sources as de Moulay al-Ksour Mosque anaa Mawlā al-Qṣūr Mosque. De mosque dey locate insyd de Ksour neighbourhood for a major souk street, Souk Laksour, near de street ein entrance insyd de Bab Ftouh area just north of Jemaa el-Fnaa.

Na a student of Abu al-Abbas as-Sabti, 12th-century Muslim saint anaa Sufi figure found de mosque. De mosque ein name dey derive from a traditional story insyd wich de na dem recruit de founder ein cat make e eliminate a rat infestation insyd de house of a vizier. Na dem renovate de building insyd de 14th century during de Marinid Sultanate, wey dey make am one of de few surviving monuments from dis period of de city, wey ebe notable for ein small buh richly-decorated minaret.

 History 

According to local tradition, na de mosque be founded by Mas'ud, a master tanner wey na he sanso be a student of Abu al-Abbas as-Sabti (d. 1204; wey na dem sanso know am locally as Sidi Bel Abbès den one of de Seven Saints of Marrakesh). Dis tradition dey recount dat a vizier wey ein house cam be infested by rats request Mas'ud ein aid make he eliminate de problem after he hear say na de latter get a cat wey go fi get de job done. Wen na Mas'ud refuse make he give am de cat, de vizier steal am, buh na de problem only increase til de vizier relent den compensate Mas'ud. De tanner then go on make he found dis mosque, wey ein name still dey commemorate de cat insyd dis story.

Na dem renovate de mosque insyd de Marinid period by a Wattasid vizier dem name Abu Muhammad Abdallah al-Zugunduri (Arabic: أبو محمد عبد الله الزكندري), wey die insyd 768 AH (1366-1367 CE). Na ebe for dis time wey na dem build ein small minaret. According to a study by Henri Basset den Henri Terrasse, na ein construction occur around de same time as dat of de Ben Salah Mosque (1321 CE), sanso dey Marrakesh, anaa shortly after.

 Architecture 

The mosque be relatively small wey ein prayer hall dey cover an area of no more dan . Ein main architectural feature of note be ein small brick minaret, wich be one of de few surviving monuments insyd Marrakesh to date from de Marinid period. De minaret be almost an exact copy of de minaret of de contemporary Ben Salah Mosque, except for a smaller scale. E get de typical cuboid form of minarets insyd de Maghreb, plus a main shaft dem top by a smaller "lantern" anaa turret. Na dem rebuild de top of de minaret at a later period.

Like de Ben Salah minaret, each of de four façades of de tower ein main shaft be mostly covered by an interlacing sebka motif (a lobed lozenge-like anaa "net"-like pattern), carved into de brick surface.Below dis sebka zone, for de street-facing side of de minaret, be a lower zone of decoration set around a small window, dem situate above eye level. Dis decorative composition be more complex wey san dey resemble a similar composition dem find for de lower façades of de Ben Salah minaret. De small window get a trilobed shape wey ebe framed by a blind lambrequin arch, wich in turn be framed by a small rectangular alfiz. Above dis be a small Square Kufic composition wey dey contain a eulogical inscription, dem flank by two eight-pointed stars. Na once dem include sam faience decoration insyd de spandrels around de window. Around den above dis be a much larger decorative composition wey dey consist of a blind multifoil arch, plus a horseshoe shape, dem nest under a plain semi-circlular blind arch, between wich dey run a sebka pattern wey dey radiate outwards from de center. Dis in turn be framed by anoda rectangular alfiz, plus de spandrels filled plus anoda sebka motif.

 References 

 External links 

 فيديو.. في اليوم العالمي للقطط : مسجد عتيق بحي المواسين يحمل اسم القطة (in Arabic) News clip about the mosque, with views of the building in the video

Category:Mosques insyd Marrakesh
Category:Marinid architecture
Category:14th-century architecture insyd Morocco
Category:14th-century mosques insyd Africa
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