Like its counterpart Qarawiyyin Mosque, the Andalusian
Mosque began as a small, modest neighborhood mosque, but became the
congregational mosque of the quarter in the 10th century. The mosque's present appearance is the result
of a series of additions and reconstruction dating from between the tenth and
fourteenth centuries. In the 10th/4th AH
century the Umayyad Caliph added the minaret, and Almohad Caliph Muhammad
al-Nasir (r. 1199–1213/ 595–610 AH) built the north entrance. The portal of the mosque was constructed in
the 13th century by artisans from the Nasrid kingdom of Granada. With its ornamentation of colorful glazed
tiles and carved stucco, and its monumental
cornice of carved cedar wood, the portal reflects the strong cultural and
political ties that existed between Fez and Islamic Spain.
Sources:
Hillenbrand, Robert.
Islamic Architecture. NY: Columbia UP, 1994. 240-251.
Hoag, John. Islamic Architecture.
NY: Rizzoli, 1987. 57-59.
Michell, George, ed.
Architecture of the Islamic World.
London: Thames & Hudson, 1996. 216.
Pickens et al. Maroc:
Les Cites Imperiales. Paris: ACR
Edition. 1995.
Terrasse, Henri. La
Mosquee des Andalous à Fes. Paris: Les
Editions d'Art et d'Histoire. 1942.
"Andalusian Mosque." Discover Islamic Art.
http://www.discoverislamicart.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;ma;Mon01;2;en
[Accessed January 12, 2014]
