{"id":16881,"date":"2023-09-13T14:25:34","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T12:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/the-koutoubia-symbol-of-an-earthquake-stricken-morocco\/"},"modified":"2023-09-15T23:57:22","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T21:57:22","slug":"the-koutoubia-symbol-of-an-earthquake-stricken-morocco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/the-koutoubia-symbol-of-an-earthquake-stricken-morocco\/","title":{"rendered":"The Koutoubia, symbol of an earthquake-stricken Morocco"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cracked but not collapsed: that could be the motto of the Koutoubia, the thousand-year-old mosque miraculously rescued from the earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale that struck the Marrakech region on the night of September 8-9.<\/p>\n

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Although Marrakech was partially destroyed, the imperial city was relatively unscathed. The same cannot be said of the Atlas villages, as the epicenter was identified in the province of Al-Haouz by the Rabat-based Centre national de la recherche scientifique et technique (CNRST).<\/p>\n

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The natural disaster killed at least 2,800 people in the country, injured 2,500 and destroyed or damaged many traditional dwellings and historic sites.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A monument turned symbol of resilience<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

On September 9, the day after the disaster, Eric Falt, Regional Director of UNESCO’s Maghreb Office, visited the Medina – the largest in North Africa, covering 700 hectares – to see the extent of the damage. In his statement, he insisted that priority must be given to saving human lives<\/strong>. However, he did not neglect the second phase, which consists of rebuilding schools and cultural assets.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Located 72 kilometers southwest of the epicenter, Marrakech<\/strong>, the country’s economic and tourist heartland (2 million tourists a year), remains the major city closest to the quake’s point of impact.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amidst the rubble, a building withstood the violent tremors<\/strong> caused by an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale. The tremors were felt as far away as the nearby cities of Rabat, Casablanca, Agadir and Essaouira.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Koutoubia<\/strong>, a monument in the heart of the Medina<\/strong> district<\/strong>, is a cultural and religious symbol for Muslims and Marrakchis<\/strong> alike, as well as an intangible urban landmark<\/strong> for getting around the “red city”.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Its minaret, a 77-metre-high 12th-century tower<\/strong> built by the Almohad dynasty, may have swayed, but it has remained standing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The building – a veritable model of a mosque in the Muslim world – is known for its geometric decoration, spire and metal orb.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This jewel of Islamic architecture, overlooking the Place Jemaa el-Fna<\/strong>, is at once an emblem of the city, a place of worship<\/strong> – the five daily prayers emanate from its precincts – and, what’s more, a national monument<\/strong> that features on the Kingdom’s banknotes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Its fame is such that it is said to have served as an architectural model for the Giralda in Seville and the Hassan Tower in Rabat.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nevertheless, it bears the scars of a traumatic episode<\/strong> for the inhabitants of Marrakech, at the height of the tourist season.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As the Regional Director of UNESCO’s Office for the Mahgreb explained to the local newspaper Le Matin, “We have seen major cracks in the minaret<\/strong> of the Koutoubia, the most emblematic structure, as well as the almost complete destruction of the minaret in Place Jama El Fnaa.<\/strong>” He adds that while the city’s ramparts<\/strong> have also been affected, the old Jewish quarter of Mellah<\/strong> remains “obviously the most affected [insofar] as the destruction of old houses is the most spectacular.”<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Marrakech, affected but relatively unscathed<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Although the international press has described the city as “partly in ruins”, it is important to qualify this statement.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While the old Medina district was particularly hard hit by the earthquake, buildings in the busy Gu\u00e9liz district remained intact<\/strong>. In this more recent residential area, traditional adobe buildings had metal frames.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the remote villages of the High Atlas<\/strong>, on the other hand, it’s customary to make do with what’s available locally – straw, earth and stones – and not really follow any rules. These sometimes makeshift constructions, which have no linked masonry<\/strong>, are less resistant to earthquakes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Of the 2,800 deaths in Morocco that are still provisional<\/strong>, only around 15 were in the city of Marrakech.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Most of the victims, literally crushed by dilapidated buildings that rarely meet earthquake-resistant standards, are to be found in the villages surrounding the imperial city. In these remote and inaccessible regions, death struck harder than elsewhere.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And as the cold season approaches, the question of international aid arises.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Geopolitical obstacles to aid for victims<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

After the disaster, it’s time to repair and rebuild<\/strong>. While it is difficult to assess the extent of the damage, particularly in mountain villages, experts put the cost of reconstruction at several hundred million euros.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Since the disaster, however, solidarity has been organized in an extraordinary way, with fund-raising campaigns set up to help those affected.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As Morocco is a sovereign state, countries cannot provide aid without prior authorization from the Kingdom.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Morocco has authorized four countries<\/strong> to come to its aid: Spain, the Emirates, the United Kingdom and Qatar<\/strong>…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Algeria<\/strong>, which has always been at odds with Morocco, opened its airspace for the first time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For the time being, the country has decided not to approach France<\/strong>. A cold shoulder no doubt linked to the revelations that the Elys\u00e9e Palace had been eavesdropped on by Moroccan authorities in connection with the Pegasus case<\/strong>…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yet France is home to a large Moroccan diaspora<\/strong>, estimated at at least 1.5 million by the Observatoire de l’immigration et de la d\u00e9mographie.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Read also > LA MABROUKA: FROM THE HOUSE OF YVES SAINT LAURENT TO A LUXURY HOTEL<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Front page photo: \u00a9 Annie Spratt\/Unsplash<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cracked but not collapsed: that could be the motto of the Koutoubia, the thousand-year-old mosque miraculously rescued from the earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale that struck the Marrakech region on the night of September 8-9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":507,"featured_media":16876,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"%%post_title%% %%sep%% %%sitetitle%%","_seopress_titles_desc":"In the wake of the earthquake, the Koutoubia, Marrakech's must-see monument, has become a symbol of Moroccan resilience.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/507"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.luxus-plus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}