In addition to the more than 1,000 deaths and the pain of their families, the strongest earthquake to hit central Morocco in more than a century has also affected the region’s historical heritage: numerous buildings in the villages surrounding the mountains from the Atlas to Marrakech.
The epicenter of the earthquake was about seventy kilometers from the Moroccan city, one of the African country’s most visited destinations, which attracts more than two million tourists every year. UNESCO protected with the declaration of World Heritage to its medina in 1985. With an area of seven hundred hectares, it has the Djemaa el Fna square and the Koutoubia Mosque as important tourist attractions.
According to several local media outlets, this famous 12th-century religious building, which served as a model for the construction of the Giralda in Seville and the unfinished Hassan Tower in Rabat, has suffered damage, although the exact extent has not yet been revealed. been determined. Several residents who were in the area during the earthquake were shocked to see what happened to them Minarets69 meters high and known as the roof of Marrakesh, swayed and was covered in a cloud of dust and they expressed fears on social media about the likely collapse, although it appears to still be there.
The – agency reports that the Minarets an old mosque, which, like that of Koutobia, is located in the Jemaa al-Fna Square, and that two people were injured as a result of the collapse. Located at the entrance to Marrakech, it dates back to the 11th century and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2001.
The central square is considered the beating heart of Marrakech’s Old Town and is a regular meeting place for street artists, market stalls and snake charmers improvised accommodation in which many of the city’s residents spent the night outdoors for fear of aftershocks.
According to Reuters, there are many of them Houses in the old town also collapsed in the earthquake and people used their hands to clear debris as they waited for emergency teams to arrive.
Numerous users have also posted videos showing defects in various places Sections of the famous walls around the old town. They were first constructed of red sandstone at the beginning of the 12th century, which, along with its buildings made of the same material, earned Marrakech the nickname “Red City”.
Ancient Imperial enclave With almost a thousand years of history, Marrakesh is Morocco’s fourth largest city and one of its economic engines. It is still too early to quantify the total damage caused to the medieval palaces, mosques, gardens and bustling markets.
The palm grove, one of the oldest in the country (11th century), is another tourist attraction. Located in the north of the city, it consists of more than 100,000 palm trees, covers 16,000 hectares and is irrigated by a complex system of wells and canals.
The Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakesh, which opened in 2017, commemorates the French designer’s ties to the red city, where in 1980 he – together with his partner Pierre Bergé – bought the Oasis villa, whose gardens belonged to the French orientalist painter Jacques Majorelle which became Saint Laurent’s most popular enclave in the city. Many celebrities followed the designer’s example and purchased riads, traditional houses with a central courtyard or interior garden in the old town.
The British leader Winston Churchill He was another great admirer of Marrakesh. On the recommendation of one of his artistic teachers, Sir John Lavery, the Prime Minister traveled to Morocco for the first time in 1935. Then he started painting his landscapes. The “Tower of the Koutubia Mosque” is the only one built during World War II.
American president Roosevelt He was exactly the inspiration for the painting. Invited by Churchill to join him in Marrakesh. He was so impressed by the view of the city and its light at dusk that the British Prime Minister decided to put the image on canvas and gave him the painting as a gift, not only as a gesture of friendship between the leaders, but also between was interpreted to them in their respective countries. . Actress Angelina Jolie auctioned the painting in 2021.
