Bab Agnaou is one of the most famous gates in Marrakech. Its construction is attributed to the Almohad caliph Abu Yusuf Ya’qub al-Mansur and was completed around 1188 or 1190. The gate was the main public entrance to the royal kasbah (citadel) in the southern part of Marrakesh’s medina. The Kasbah, built by Yaqub al-Mansur, is the site of the nearby El Mansouria Mosque (or Kasbah Mosque) and the Saadian Tombs behind it, as well as the El Badi Palace and the main Royal Palace (Dar al-Makhzen) of la city.

The word “bab” comes from the Arabic word meaning “door” or “door”. It is believed that the name agnaou was of Berber origin and had multiple historically reported meanings including “dumb” and, later, “black people” (or Gnawa); however, it is not clear what exact connotation the name had in this case. It could also be translated to “a hornless sheep”. The potential reference to the Gnawa could be explained by the fact that the gate is located in the southern part of the city and faces partly to the south, therefore away from Berber North Africa and more towards sub-Saharan Africa.

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It is located just inside the main city walls (medina), near Bab er-Robb, at the northwestern corner of the Kasbah. The function of the gate was mainly decorative, given its location already within the city walls. However, the gate was originally flanked by two bastion towers crowned with battlements, and the passage inside was a curved entrance (i.e. rotated 90 degrees before exiting) that passed through a large vaulted vestibule. At the top of the gate was a terrace which was accessed by an internal staircase. This original layout made it similar to other monumental Almohad gates such as Bab er-Rouah in Rabat. The side towers and covered vestibule, however, have disappeared and the door arch has been partially filled with a smaller, simpler brick arch. The reduction of the arch probably dates back to the time of the Alawite sultan Sidi Muhammad ibn Abdallah, who carried out numerous works in the Kasbah area. The current small open courtyard behind the gate is the result of later works.

However, the gate has retained its rich stone-carved decoration from the Almohad period, once again comparable to that of Bab er-Rouah and Bab Oudaia in Rabat. The facade is made of sandstone, probably quarried in the Gueliz area near Marrakesh. The original arch of the gate is surrounded by alternating semicircular bands that alternate between radiating lines and intertwined arch motifs. The plumes (corner areas) are covered with floral motifs (arabesques), each with a sculpted shell in the center. All this ornament is in turn framed by a long frieze carved with an inscription from the Koran in foliate Kufic letters. The inscription includes excerpts from the Surah al-Hijr. On either side of the ornate facade are pillars that are sometimes thought to have supported a canopy or awning, but which many scholars believe were merely a decorative transition between the ornate facade and the flanking ramparts of the door.

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Photo credits through Instagram: nr. 1 topdestinos – nr. 2 neumarc – nr. 3 straeter_photography – nr. 4 tarekagnaou – nr. 5 j__burley