City Wall, Marrakesh

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The old city walls run for 19kms around the city and parts of the wall date back to the 12th century. There are some 200 Borjs or towers which break the line of the 2 metre thick wall, and 9 gates – the most famous being Bab Agnaou.

Since the rule of the Almohad and Almoravid dynasty, the Medina of Marrakech is surrounded by an unbroken circle of city walls, almost 20 km long. Today, the walls form the border to the newer city quarters Gueliz and Hivernage to the west.

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The oldest parts of the ramparts of Marrakech date from the foundation of the city in the 12th century. In the 16th century they were extended to the south and north. Even nowadays the old city wall encircles the whole medina and is 19 km’s long, 2 metres thick and up to 9 metres high. The ramparts are made of pisé (clay and chalk) and do have an orange/red colour (more or less depending on the time of the day).

We got the best impression of the ramparts by walking along a part of it from Bab Jedid (nearby Hotel La Mamounia) to Bab er-Rob and Bab Agnaou. These ramparts do have a lot of holes (saw them also on other buildings) and although I asked for the meaning I still don’t know.

There are 19 (‘official’) city Gates in the ramparts - we saw more or less unofficial gates during our walk. The oldest also dating from the 12th century. Some of them are rather simple and plain, like for instance Bab Nkob between the medina and the Ville Nouvelle (you hardly notice this gate). But others are really amazing examples of Moorish architecture.

By far the most beautiful and impressive city gate is Bab Agnaou, once the entrance to the Almohad Palace. It is beautifully decorated and has a mixture of red and gray/blue colours. It can only be used by pedestrians and when walking through this gate we got a sense of the dimensions of this ‘bab’.
Bab Agnaou is the entrance to the Kasbah, the oldest part of Marrakech, and nearby the El Mansour Mosque.

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The walls of la Médina, the old city of Marrakech, date back from the 12th century Almoravides period and successive restorations. They were built in the typical arabo-andalusian city wall style, but in the Marrakchi reddish-pink colour. As all mediaeval ramparts, the Marrakech walls are punctuated with city gates, or bab in Arabic. Each bab has a story to go with it, and I was told the best way to see them all would be to take a carriage ride around walls, something I did not manage to do. Attached are pictures of Bab Doukkala, Bab er-Rob, and a third which is possibly Bab Ksiba, three city gates I did see.

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Bab Agnaou is the most imposing gate in Marrakech. It is also second only to the Koutoubia Minaret as the architectural symbol of the city. The beautifully ornate gate was built in the 12th century during Almohad dynasty and, for a long time, was the main access into the Kasbah, the fortified palace neighbourhood to the south of the Medina. Two towers originally stood on either side of the gate, but were destroyed long ago. Unlike most of Marrakech, the gate was built with blue-grey stones from Guéliz Mountain, rather than the reddish-pink stones used elsewhere, but overtime, pink dust accumulated over the grey stone giving the gate reddish tones. The origins of the gate's current name ("Agnaou") are unknown, but it replaced the old name Bab al-Qasr (Palace Gate).

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The city walls, built in the XII century and subsequently destroyed and rebuilt, are about 15 kilometres long, reddish in colour and two metres thick. It has powerful ancient ramparts, various styles and many monumental doors, among which the Bab Aguenaou stands out for its magnificence. It dates back to the era of the Almoravids and leads to the quarter of the kasbah.

And there we went...The wide lanes of this parth
of the city are quit boring. The people you
meet here are dressed quit different , and
there is outward no difference between them
and the modern European.

Soon we arrived by the city walls. We decided to
enter the city at 'Bab Jdid'. Every of the 9 gates
have got a name. The walls have got that typical
red color that gives Marrakesh it's own character.
If you are the brave kind of persons that likes
long walks...19 km and your round the city.
(you can even choose to go left or right. ;-))
That is if you want to see every single one
of the 200 square towers.

The entire central city area of Marrakech is enclosed within solid, tall city walls, finished with local red mud. They run for 16 km!

Considering that the walls were first built in the 12th century, it reminds you what an enormous trading city Marrakech has always been.

There are a number of large gates leading through the walls. I stayed opposite Bab Doukkala, the arched gate to the north of the city.

On the south side of the city is the incredible ornate Bab Agnaou, by far the most splendid.

Marrakech's walls are often full of square holes. Originally I thought these were for birds to nest :-) However, the main reason for these perforations are to control the ventilation of the city. The city is protected from the strong winds and at the same time has a sophisticated medieaval air-conditioning system!