Kasbah of the Udayas

The monumental gate of the kasbah, located uphill and overlooking Rabat below, is considered one of most beautiful gates of Almohad and Moroccan architecture.[5][4][6][14] It goes by the name Bab Oudaia ("Udaya Gate") or Bab al-Kbir ("Great Gate").[15][16] It was built by the Almohad caliph Ya'qub al-Mansur between 1195 and 1199, inserted into the previous walls of the kasbah built by Abd al-Mu'min around 1150.[4][14] It has both an outer facade (facing southeast towards the city) and an inner facade (facing northeast onto the Street of the Mosque), both richly decorated. The massive gate was largely ceremonial and had little defensive value, given its position already inside the city walls; unlike Bab er-Rouah, the ornate western gate in Rabat's city walls, built around the same time, it was not flanked by true defensive towers.[4]

The carved decoration around the horseshoe arch entrance features a curved band of interlacing geometric forms (specifically, a pattern known as darj wa ktaf, commonly seen in Moroccan architecture), set inside a rectangular frame outlined by a Qur'anic inscription frieze in Kufic Arabic script. The inscription includes the Surat As-Saff (61:9-13), which contains references to jihad, as befitting the kasbah's role as a symbol of Almohad military might.[7] In the corners between this curved band and the inscription are carved arabesque or floral patterns with a palmette or scallop shell at their middle, and above these is another carved frieze of palmettes.[4] Further above all this is another band of geometric carving, at either side of which are two ornate corbels, set above decorative engaged columns, which probably once supported a shallow roof or canopy covered in green tiles.[4] At both corners of the horseshoe arch (at the bottom of the curved band of geometric carvings) are serpentine "S"-like forms, probably representing eels, which are a very rare motif in Almohad or Moroccan architecture.[6][14] The external facade of the inner gate, facing towards the kasbah, has carved decoration very similar to that of the outer gate, but with minor differences in the choice of geometric forms.[14]

Inside, the gate has three chambers: two square chambers covered by domes and a third chamber covered by a barrel vault.[4][14] Entering through the main outer gate, each chamber is reached by a short flight of stairs. The second chamber opens to the inner gate, while the third chamber (rarely open to visitors) can be accessed by a smaller doorway from the second chamber.[4][14] The archways inside the two first chambers feature decorative geometric carvings similar to the outline of the outer gates, but without the rest of the extensive decoration around them.[14]

• 
  The facade of the outer gate.
• 
  Details of the facade of the outer gate.
• 
  The eel motif at the base of the arches.
• 
  The chambers inside the gate (seen at night).
• 
  The facade of the inner gate.
• 
  Details of the facade of the inner gate.

The oldest current structure at the site of the Kasbah is its main mosque, the Jama' al-'Atiqa ("Old Mosque"). Dating from Abd al-Mu'min's construction in 1150, it was largely restored in the 18th century, during the reign of Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah, by an English corsair known as Ahmed el-Inglizi.[6][4][17] The minaret dates from this later restoration.[6]

The mosque measures about 26.5 by 25 metres but its outline is partly irregular due to modifications over the centuries.[17] Its exterior is mainly made of stone while the arches of the interior are made in brick.[17] Like many medieval western Islamic mosques, its qibla (direction of prayer) is not aligned with the true direction of Mecca but faces mostly south, following an older tradition based on a hadith.[18] The mosque can be entered via four horseshoe arch doorways.[17] Inside is a rectangular courtyard (sahn) surrounded by galleries on three sides and by the prayer hall to the south/southeast. The layout of the prayer hall follows the typical "T"-plan of medieval Moroccan mosques: it is split by rows of arches into seven "naves" running perpendicular to the qibla wall, of which the central one is wider than the others and is aligned with the mihrab (niche symbolizing the direction of prayer).[17] The walls and arches of the mosque's interior are painted white, with the lower walls decorated with Moroccan tilework while the upper walls and the spandrels of the arches are decorated with carved stucco.[18] The mihrab is the most richly decorated feature, again featuring ornate patterns in carved stucco. This decoration, however, is of recent date.[17]

One unusual feature of the mosque's layout is the fact that the minaret stood separate from the rest of the mosque and behind the qibla (southeastern) wall, and was only connected to the mosque in 1940.[17][18] The minaret is made of stone and has a square shaft measuring about 4.55 meters to one side.[17] It is modestly decorated with blind arches on its facades.[6]

• 
  Doorway of the Old Mosque in the kasbah (just off the main street).
• 
  Minaret of the Old Mosque in the kasbah.
• 
  Southeastern facade of the minaret.

The southern part of the kasbah includes a former pavilion or palace residence built by Sultan Moulay Ismail (ruled 1672-1727) at the end of the 17th century.[4][6] The building is centered around a main courtyard and is distinguished on the outside by a tower. For a while, the palace also served as a madrasa.[6] In 1915, during the French Protectorate over Morocco, the building was converted into a museum on the initiative of Prosper Ricard, director of the Service des Arts Indigènes under Lyautey.[19] It became an ethnographic museum with a collection initially made up of donations from Prosper Ricard himself, Alfred Bel, and Jean Besancenot.[19] The museum's collection expanded to include jewellery, musical instruments, ceramics, Qur'ans and manuscripts (some as old as the 12th century), costumes, silks, and carpets, all from different parts of the country.[6][20] In 2006, following a restoration, it became the National Jewellery Museum, devoted to the history of Moroccan jewellery, along with some other objects.[19][20] In 2014, the museum was closed for long-term refurbishments by the National Foundation of Museums.[21][22][23]

• 
  The tower of the pavilion of Moulay Ismail (Oudayas Museum).
• 
  The main courtyard of the residential pavilion of Moulay Ismail, now part of the Oudayas Museum.
• 
  One of the rooms or vestibules, with decoration including zellij tilework.
• 
  A room in the former hammam (bathhouse) of the residential pavilion.

The "Andalusian Garden" next to the museum was created between 1915 and 1918, during the French protectorate in Morocco, under Maurice Tranchant De Lunel.[6][24] It is a formal garden ostensibly inspired by the Moorish gardens of al-Andalus (Andalucia) and features a variety of trees and plants such as bougainvillea and citrus trees.[25] It is frequented by tourists and locals.[26]

• 
  The Andalusian Gardens of the kasbah, looking towards the pavilion of Moulay Ismail.
• 
  The walls and one of the towers surrounding the gardens.
• 
  View of the Andalusian Gardens around 1920.