TINMEL MOSQUE

Tinmel Mosque: A Berber heritage south of Marrakech

     Abandoned following the end of the Almohads in the 13th century, the mosque did not regain its forms until the end of the 20th century.


From Marrakech, it took a hundred kilometers south to reach the village of Tinmel. A path marked by turns, crossing the changing landscapes of the High Atlas. Between a dam, ancient douars on the mountainside and waterfalls, this Asni road dazzles with its diversity. Once in Tinmel, the ocher color dominates all the others and lets the constructions built from local materials, blend in with the decor.


This is also the case with the Tinmel Mosque, the main building in the region. An architectural jewel, surrounded by mountains and testifying to almost 9 centuries of history. Met when we arrived at the mosque, Youssef, a young thirties from the region, welcomed us among some other international tourists, who came to discover the site more closely. We therefore travel back in time, thanks to the story of this history lover, particularly attached to this mosque. We find ourselves in the 12th century, just after the return of Mohamed Ibn Toumart, from his long journey through the Middle East, summarized by an in-depth learning in Islam.


The latter reminds us of its twin, the Hassan Tower in Rabat, but also those of the Koutoubia of Marrakech (founded in 1162) and the Giralda of Seville (built in 1195); the latter, an old mosque transformed into a cathedral after the reconquista, was built, like the others, during the reign of the Almohads. If the head of the Hassan tower (which dates from 1196) has disappeared or has never been completed, according to some historians, only the lower half of Tinmel's remains remains, the other half has been decimated.


Many of the pillars have not been touched and still retain traces of the original floral architecture and geometric decoration, but others have been completely renovated. "This building was like its founders, with simple and sober architecture, moreover it was called, at the time, the white mosque, because there was no trace of a painting. The founders of the Almohad dynasty preached purity and naturalness and chased away the tricks that harm pure nature, ”slips our“ conservative ”.


The capitals of the mosque and their engravings were not touched either, or very slightly. In the beautiful book, "Tinmel, the Almohad epic", published by the ONA Foundation just after the restoration of the site in 1994, one can read about these capitals: "They are one of the major lessons of the oratory of Tinmel. Some researchers have spoken of it as "the richest adornment".

Go back:

The Malikite rite permeated by the Almoravids, in power until now, did not match the monotheistic thought of the Berber. Naturally, Ibn Toumart was oppressed from the start of his preaching, pushing him to flee Marrakech, for Tinmel. By walking between the multiple arches of this monument, the state of certain pillars draws our attention. A remarkable solid wood darkened, and in the form of blocks thicker than the others used on the neighboring arches. Youssef, still intervenes and returns in 1994, where the mosque is redone again, after a long suffering of it in time.


The traces of the 12th century still appear there, between the main ablution fountain in the center of the courtyard, the mihrab and its sculptures, or the minaret with forms almost identical to those of the Hassan Tower in Rabat, Koutoubia in Marrakech and other the Giralda from Seville.


Making Tinmel his stronghold, Ibn Toumart, helped by Abdelmoumen Ibn Ali, gradually succeeded in his mission, signing the end of the Almoravid era, for news of the Almohads. Abdelmoumen Ibn Ali succeeds to power after the death of Ibn Toumart, while keeping Tinmel as capital of the empire. In full swing of the dynasty, he built a palace and a wall there for the city or this large mosque in 1153 for the memory of Ibn Toumart, making Tinmel (school in Berber) a real cultural and spiritual center of the empire .

Rigor of the axiality of the main lines of the plan:

The plan of the mosque and the main lines which constitute it respond to asymmetrical order on both sides of the main element, the heart in a way, around which everything will be implemented, including the mihrab. The architect put all his knowledge so that in the space with the altogether modest proposals which were given to him, harmony and majesty constitute the key elements. In an almost square figure of around 1800m², the rules are forever written: remembering centuries of Islam and inheriting a whole past, carrying with it references taken from Kairouan, Cordoba, we will crystallize, in a very short period of time, all the characters that will constitute canonical and compulsory models: the mosque with longitudinal naves of the Muslim West indelibly embodies its development for Tinmel.