Hassan Tower, Rabat (must see)

Hassan Tower (or Tour Hassan) is the minaret of an incomplete mosque. It was commissioned by Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, the third Caliph of the Almohad Caliphate, in 1195, and was intended to be the largest minaret in the world.

Strategically placed on the high south bank of the Bu Regreg river, to provide an imposing spectacle visible for miles around, the tower is made of sandstone which, over the centuries, has turned red ochre in color. It has a square floor plan, like the other minarets in the region, measuring 16 meters per side. Instead of stairs, though, the structure is ascended by ramps. This was to enable a muezzin to ride a horse to the top of the tower to issue a call to prayer.

The design was done by an architect named Jabir and is similar to that of Hassan's sister tower, Giralda, in Seville, Spain. Both of them were modeled on the minaret of yet another one of Jabir's creations, the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech.

Despite having been commissioned by Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, the structure carries the name of "Hassan" for unknown reason. What is known is that it has been called so since the 13th century. Suggestion that it could have been the architect's first name is not substantiated.

After al-Mansour's death in 1199, the construction came to a halt. The tower only reached 44 meters, about half of its intended 86 meters height. The rest of the mosque was also left incomplete, with only the beginnings of several walls and 200 columns finished.

At the center of each of the six floors there was meant to be a vaulted chamber surrounded by ramps and lit by the horseshoe-shaped windows set into the sides of the tower. The exterior is decorated with panels of sebka patterning as well as engaged columns and capitals carved from the same sandstone as the tower itself. There is also one marble capital of Andalusi spolia.

Along with the remains of the mosque and the modern Mausoleum of Mohammed V, the Hassan Tower forms an important historical and tourist complex in Rabat.