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The ruins of the Hassan Mosque, where also lies the Mohammed V Mausoleum and Mosque.

Apart from some broken columns (that came from came from the ruins of a Roman town), all that is left from the mosque is the 50 meters high minaret (the tower). The mosque and its minaret construction began in 1195 and were never finished. It would have been the second largest mosque in the world at that time. It was designed by the powerful Almohad king Yacoub Al Mansour, a Berber whose empire went as far as Tripoli, in actual Libya and much of the South Iberian Peninsula. He appears in our Portuguese history of the man who gave our first king his biggest defeat. The construction works seem to have stopped shortly after his death in 1199.

The Mausoleum, a beautiful white marble building designed by the Vietnamese architect Vo Toan and built in the 1960's, houses the tomb of King Mohammed V and some of his family, namely his son, King Hassan II. Mohammed V figure is much respected in Morocco because he his considered the main responsible for the independance from the French, who efectively ruled the country since the late 19th century until 1956.

The place is very well kept and is located on the top of a hill with impressive views in every direction - one can see much of the old part of Rabat and the sister town across the Bou Regreg River, Sale, the estuary of that river and the sea.

I have posted other photos of this place:
«Hassan tower II», «Hassan tower III», «Mohammed V Mausoleum and Mosque» and «Mohammed V Mausoleum».

I have also other photos in WS's:
A zoomed and cropped version of «Hassan tower II», a more detailed view of «Mohammed V Mausoleum and Mosque» and a couple of others shot near the base of the tower: «view towards the sea (West)» and «view towards Sale (North)».

I have a 'travelogue' of this trip of mine to Morocco (not a real travelogue, I have set it up just to group the posts).