An account of the empire of Marocco, and the districts of Suse and Tafilelt; compiled from miscellaneous observations made during a long residence in, and various journies through, these countries. To which is added an account of shipwrecks on the western coast of Africa, and an interesting account of Timbuctoo, the great emporium of Central AfricaJackson, James Grey
History
An account of the empire of Marocco, and the districts of Suse and Tafilelt; compiled from miscellaneous observations made during a long residence in, and various journies through, these countries. To which is added an account of shipwrecks on the western coast of Africa, and an interesting account of Timbuctoo, the great emporium of Central Africa
Jackson, James Grey
Morocco
lofty and spacious doors, which are opened according to the position
of the sun; they are painted and gilt in the Arabesque style, and
ornamented with square compartments containing passages from the
Koran, in a sort of hieroglyphic character, or Arabic shorthand,
understood only by the first scholars. As the luxury and convenience
of tables, chairs, and curtains are unknown in this country,
the furniture of these apartments is very simple, consisting of a
couple of sofas or couches, some china, and tea equipage, a clock,
a few arms hung round the walls, a water-pot, and carpets to kneel
upon in prayers. Here the Emperor takes coffee or tea, and transacts
business with his courtiers.
The grand pavilion in the middle of the enclosure is appropriated
to the women; it is a very spacious building, and fitted up in the
same style of neatness and simplicity as the others.[58]
Near to the palace is (the M’shoar, or) Place of Audience, an
extensive quadrangle, walled in, but open to the sky, in which the
Emperor gives audience to his subjects, hears their complaints,
and administers justice.
In Marocco are many temples, sanctuaries, and mosques; of these,
the most curious is one in the middle of the city, called Jamâa
Sidi Yusif, built by a prince named Muley el Mumen, on the site of
one erected by Sidi Yusif, which the former destroyed with a view
to obliterate the latter prince’s name; in this, however, he was
disappointed, for though he expended great sums in the erection of
the present building, and called it after himself, for the purpose
of transmitting his own name to posterity, yet the people continued
to call it by the old name, which it retains to the present time.
There is another mosque, said to have been built by Muley el
Monsore;[59] the body of it is supported by many pillars of marble,
and under it is a (mitfere) cistern, which holds a large quantity of
water, collected in the rainy season, and used by the Mohammedans
for their ablutions. The tower is square, and built like that of
Seville in Spain, and the one near Rabat already described;[60]
the walls are four feet thick, and it has seven stories, in each of
which are windows, narrow on the outside, but wide within, which
renders the interior light and airy: the ascent is not by stairs,
but by a gradually winding terrace composed of lime and small stones,
so firmly cemented together as to be nearly as hard as iron. On the
summit of the tower is a turret in the form of a square lantern,
hence called (Smâa el Fannarh) the Lantern Tower, which commands a
most extensive prospect, and from whence Cape Cantin, distant about
120 miles, is distinctly visible. The roofs of the different chambers
in this building, which are all quadrangular, are very ingeniously
vaulted: and indeed the whole workmanship is of the most excellent
kind. Prayers are performed here every Friday in presence of the
Emperor. That part of the city adjoining this edifice is quite a
heap of ruins.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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