Bab el Mansour Gate

The Bab el-Mansour Gate of 1732 is the main entrance to the Imperial City of Meknes. Like all the main gates, this gate is beautifully decorated. They show graceful arabesque-stucco, mosaic patterns of glazed ceramics, black Arabic script, which makes a huge impression. The columns of the gate are much older than the gate itself – they were brought from the Apennine Peninsula.

The gate was designed to protect against enemy attacks. If the enemy could break through the first doors, then he hit the second, which was harder to break through.

The name of the gate, meaning “Gate of Mansour the Apostate”, immortalized the name of its architect, who was a prisoner of a Moroccan prison, Christian Mansour La Riche, who was released after converting to Islam.

Now there are temporary exhibitions of contemporary artists inside the gate.