Las mezquitas de Arcila (Marruecos): mihrabs y quiblas

Abstract

The city of Asilah (Morocco) has one of the most interesting North African medinas. Its religious architecture is, basically, its monumental heritage which is divided into three types of sanctuaries: mosques, zawāyā and murābiṭūn. They are in total 16 buildings that were briefly studied during the Spanish Protectorate, but since then little or no progress has been made on their description and classification. In this article its mihrab and quibla (essential architectural element of the Islamic rite on which the inner spatial confi- els) are studied and analyzed to propose a first novel classification, both typological and formal.