Art & Architecture

The Bou Inania Madrasa in Fes (1350 AD) is considered the pinnacle of Moroccan Islamic art — its walls covered floor-to-ceiling in zellige mosaic, carved stucco and cedar arabesque, around a central pool that reflects sky and geometry simultaneously. Marrakech's Koutoubia minaret (1158 AD) set the template for the Giralda in Seville and the Hassan Tower in Rabat — the three are near-identical. Ait Benhaddou's ksar — 11 families still live inside it — is the greatest surviving example of Saharan earthen architecture. Volubilis holds the finest Roman mosaics in Africa. And Casablanca's Hassan II Mosque, built over the ocean in 1993 on a platform of reclaimed land, has the world's tallest minaret (210m) and a sliding roof that opens to the sky.