Mansourah Minaret

Mansourah was built at the very beginning of the fourteenth century as a walled camp city by the Merinids of Fez during a long siege of Tlemcen, complete with palace, mosque and defences, and it was abandoned when the siege ended. What remains is a long circuit of rammed earth walls with towers, the outline of the mosque, and its minaret: a tall square tower of stone and brick whose front face survives to around forty metres with a horseshoe-arched doorway and interlacing decoration, while the rear half has collapsed, leaving the structure open like a section drawing. It stands in open ground on the edge of modern Tlemcen.

What you actually see

• A minaret split in half - the surviving face open like a section.
• Interlaced brick and stone decoration - the Merinid ornament on the tower.
• Rammed earth walls and towers - the circuit of the abandoned city.
• The mosque outline - the plan on the ground inside the walls.

When to go

Spring and autumn, avoiding the July and August heat. Two hours. Morning and late light are best on the tower face. The ground is open with no shade.

Honest expectations

Almost nothing is interpreted and the site is not actively managed. The interior of the minaret is closed. The walls are eroding and parts are fenced. Modern building has come close to the boundaries.

Nearby

Tlemcen is east; the Sidi Boumediene complex lies on the other side of the city.