R'cif Mosque

R'cif Mosque
Basic information
Location Fez, Morocco
Ecclesiastical or organizational status active
Architectural description
Architectural type Mosque
Architectural style Alaouite
Founder Moulay Slimane
Completed 18th century
Minaret(s) 1

The R'cif Mosque (also transliterated as R'sif, Ercif, er-Rsif, Rasif, etc.) (Arabic: جامع الرصيف) is a Friday mosque in Fes el-Bali, the old city (medina) of Fez, Morocco. It has one of the tallest minarets in the city and overlooks Place R'cif in the heart of the medina.

Location and description

The mosque is located just west of Place R'cif, a large public square created in the 20th century[1] to provide easier access to the interior of the medina (it is one of the only places inside the medina that can be reached by car). Its name means "Mosque of the Paved Road".[2] It was built on a cliffside along the shore of the Bou Khareb River (Oued Bou Khareb) which passes through the center of the city, though the river is now hidden underground between Place R'Cif and the south edge of the city.

The mosque was built in the 18th century during the reign of the Alaouite sultan Moulay Slimane (1792-1822)[3][2] (or, according to one source,[4] during the reign of Moulay Mohammed bin Abdallah (1757-1790)). The mosque features one of the tallest minarets in the old city, making it very prominent on the skyline, especially from the south.[4] The minaret has a square base and is decorated simply with bands of green faience. The main gate of the mosque opens on its west side, facing a small public square. It is decorated with a carved geometric pattern inside a square frame, typical of the Almohad and Marinid architectural legacies, filled with predominantly green tiles decorated with arabesques and small areas of mosaic tiles (zellij). Above the gate is an ornately carved wooden canopy, likely of cedar, also typical of Moroccan architecture, and further above and behind rises the minaret of the mosque. In addition to being a Friday mosque (i.e. a large mosque that accommodates Friday prayers and hosts a khutba), it also hosted a small library of books for use in the mosque.[2]

References

  1. ↑ (Information indicated on official signage at Place R'cif.)
  2. 1 2 3 Le Tourneau, Roger (1949). Fès avant le protectorat : étude économique et sociale d'une ville de l'occident musulman. Casablanca: Société Marocaine de Librairie et d'Édition. pp. 88, 132, 473, 586.
  3. ↑ Gaudio, Attilio (1982). Fès: Joyau de la civilisation islamique. Paris: Les Presses de l'Unesco: Nouvelles Éditions Latines. p. 28. ISBN 2723301591.
  4. 1 2 Métalsi, Mohamed (2003). Fès: La ville essentielle. Paris: ACR Édition Internationale. p. 188. ISBN 978-2867701528.

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