The Architecture of Morocco: A Visitor's Guide

1. The influences behind the style

Moroccan architecture blends several traditions. The Amazigh (Berber) people built in earth and stone, adapted to mountain and desert. Arab-Islamic culture brought the mosque, the madrasa and a love of geometry. From the 11th century, close ties with Muslim Spain added the refined Andalusian style, and French planners left Art Deco boulevards in the 20th century.

2. The dynasties and what they built

Each ruling family left a recognisable mark, and knowing the order helps you date a building at a glance.

• Almoravids (11th to 12th century): Founders of Marrakech, who brought craftsmen from Andalusia. Little survives beyond a small domed pavilion in Marrakech.
• Almohads (12th to 13th century): Monumental and austere. They built the Koutoubia in Marrakech and the Hassan Tower in Rabat.
• Marinids (13th to 15th century): Masters of fine detail. The madrasas of Fes and the necropolis of Chellah are theirs.
• Saadians (16th to 17th century): Lavish and colourful, as in the Saadian Tombs and the ruined El Badi Palace in Marrakech.
• Alaouites (17th century to today): The gates and granaries of Meknes, the Bahia Palace and the Hassan II Mosque.

3. The main types of building

A handful of words explain most of what you will see. You will hear them from every guide, and they appear on signs and in the names of hotels.

• Riad: A town house built around a courtyard garden, usually with a fountain. Rooms open inward for privacy and coolness.
• Dar: A similar house with a paved courtyard rather than a garden.
• Kasbah: A fortified residence of a chief or wealthy family, with corner towers.
• Ksar: A whole fortified village of earthen houses within one wall, such as Aït Benhaddou.
• Mosque: Recognisable by its square minaret; in Morocco most are closed to non-Muslims.
• Madrasa: A college where students lived and studied, often the most decorated building in a medina.
• Fondouk: A merchants' inn with rooms around a courtyard for goods and animals.

4. Inside a riad: how the house works

From the lane, a riad is a blank wall and a heavy door. The entrance passage usually turns a corner so that nobody in the street can see inside. Then the house opens onto a courtyard, traditionally divided into four planted beds around a central fountain.

The design is a climate machine. The courtyard draws cool air down in the evening, thick walls hold the temperature steady, and the fountain adds moisture. Reception rooms sit on the ground floor, bedrooms open off a gallery above, and the flat roof terrace is where the household dries washing, sleeps on hot nights and looks out over the city.

5. The decorative arts

Decoration follows strict rules. Religious art avoids images of people and animals, so craftsmen developed three languages instead: geometry, flowing plant forms and calligraphy. The materials are few, and the skill lies in how they are combined.

• Zellige: Mosaics of hand-cut glazed tiles arranged in geometric patterns.
• Carved stucco: Plaster worked into lace-like designs and calligraphy.
• Cedar wood: Painted or carved ceilings, doors and screens from the forests of the Middle Atlas.
• Tadelakt: A polished lime plaster, waterproof and silky, used in hammams and bathrooms.
• Horseshoe arches and muqarnas: Curved doorways and honeycomb vaulting.

Local tip: In a madrasa, look at the walls in three bands: tiles at the bottom, stucco in the middle, cedar at the top. Almost every great Moroccan interior follows this order.

6. How zellige is made

Zellige begins as squares of clay from the hills around Fes, fired, glazed in a single colour and fired again. A craftsman then sits on the ground with a sharp, heavy hammer and chips each tile into small shapes: stars, diamonds, crosses and dozens of others, every one with its own name.

The pieces are laid face down on the floor like a jigsaw seen from behind, following a pattern the master carries in his head, and plaster is poured over the back. Only when the panel is lifted does anyone see the finished design. A large wall can contain many thousands of pieces.

7. Earthen architecture of the south

South of the Atlas, buildings are made of pisé, a mixture of earth, straw and gravel rammed between wooden boards. It keeps rooms cool in summer and warm in winter, but it needs constant repair, which is why so many kasbahs are crumbling. Tall, tapering towers with geometric patterns in mud brick are the signature of the Drâa and Dades valleys.

Higher in the mountains, villages stored their grain in fortified communal granaries, known as agadirs or ighrems, where each family kept a locked room. Aït Benhaddou, listed by UNESCO in 1987, is the best place to see how an entire earthen village fits together, and a few families still live inside its walls.

8. Where to see the best examples

You do not need to go out of your way. These buildings lie on the usual routes through the country, and most can be visited in under an hour.

• Bou Inania and Attarine madrasas, Fes: Marinid craftsmanship at its peak.
• Ben Youssef Madrasa, Marrakech: A vast, serene courtyard.
• Bahia Palace, Marrakech: Painted ceilings and gardens of the 19th century.
• Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca: Modern Moroccan craft on a monumental scale, and open to visitors.
• Aït Benhaddou: The most complete ksar in the country.
• Kasbah Amridil, Skoura: A restored kasbah that shows how a family lived.
• Hassan Tower, Rabat: Almohad grandeur in red sandstone.

9. Tips for visitors

Monument entry fees are modest, and a local guide adds a great deal. Most mosques cannot be entered by non-Muslims, but madrasas, palaces and tombs can. Dress modestly, and remove your shoes where asked.

Light matters. Courtyards are at their best in the morning, before the sun is overhead and flattens the carving, and earthen kasbahs glow in the last hour before sunset. Give yourself time to sit: these buildings were designed to be looked at slowly.

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