Ould El Hamra Mosque and Minaret

The Ould El Hamra Mosque and its minaret stand on Rue Tnaker in the Old Medina of Casablanca, in Morocco's Casablanca-Settat region. The mosque dates from the Alaouite period, in the 18th century, when Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah rebuilt the town of Dar el Beida as a fortified port and its inhabitants required places of worship within the walls. It is among the oldest surviving religious buildings of the Old Medina, and its minaret is a recognised landmark of the district. The minaret has a square plan and rises above the low houses of the medina, serving as a visual marker for people moving through the lanes. Its form follows the western Moroccan tradition of tall square-shafted minarets with decorative panels, plain whitewashed or earthen surfaces and a small lantern at the top, rather than the monumental scale of modern mosques. The mosque is a working place of worship that serves the surrounding neighbourhood, and it has been repaired and maintained over time by the religious authorities, though the exact details of its restoration history are not widely documented. Non-Muslims cannot enter Moroccan mosques, with a few exceptions such as the Hassan II Mosque, so visitors can only see the exterior and the minaret from the street. The setting is narrow and busy, and the best views come from the lanes near the mosque, or from the La Sqala ramparts nearby. The site is free to view at any time, though visitors should avoid blocking worshippers near prayer times. It is a short walk from Bab Marrakech and La Sqala, which makes it easy to include in a walking circuit of the Old Medina. Together these monuments show the 18th-century layout of Dar el Beida before the French expansion of the city in the 20th century.