The Bab Bou Jeloud gate at the medina of Fez
The rich textures and monuments of Morocco’s four royal cities—Fez, Marrakesh, Meknes, and Rabat—reflect their positions on the crossroads of Northwest Africa’s trade routes with the Western Mediterranean and the Islamic world. Native African Berber cultures have interacted with Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Jews, Andalusians, and later Europeans for millennia, creating a highly distinctive material culture today.
In this richly illustrated day-long program, art historian Lawrence Butler explores Morocco’s great royal cities over time, through the lenses of art and architecture. City planning, military architecture, urban casbahs, and the intricate beauty of Moroccan carpets, woodwork, and zellij tilework are all part of this distinctive and brilliant world of art.
9:30–10:45 a.m. Al-Maghrib: Islam’s Western Frontier
An overview of Morocco’s history and arts from the fine Roman ruins of Volubilis to the spectacular souqs of Marrakesh. The spiritual and design principles of Islamic art and the contributions of Andalusian culture are discussed.
11 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Fez: The Medina
Fez was, and still is, one of the greatest cities of the medieval world, the home of Qarawayyin Univresity, one of the world’s oldest, and a fountainhead of Islamic culture. The stunningly beautiful madrasas, religious schools from the 14th century, emerge from a dense urban matrix of markets and ethnic quarters. Examine the workings of its incomparable walled ancient heart, the medina, as well as UNESCO’s efforts to preserve it as a living city
12:15–1:30 p.m. Lunch (participants provide their own).
1:30–2:45 p.m. Marrakech and the Saraha Caravans
Morocco’s vibrant southern capital was built to control the great trans-Saharan caravans of gold, salt, ivory, and slaves. Its mighty Kutubiyya minaret towers over the rich urban theatre of the Jemaa el-Fnaa square where West African Sufi traditions mix with the Berber cultures of the Atlas and Sahara. Today it boasts palaces old and new, traditional Islamic water gardens, and cutting-edge design inspired by traditional Moroccan arts.
3–4:15 p.m. Morocco and the Europeans
The histories and urban design of Rabat, Meknes, Tangier, and Casablanca are intertwined with the European, and particularly French, colonial eras. Delacroix and Matisse, Paul Bowles and the beatniks were all inspired by Tangier and the Rif mountains. Look at modern Morocco through the eyes of foreign and Moroccan artists and writers, and appreciate the continuing traditions of design represented by the immense new Hassan II Mosque of Casablanca.
Butler is associate professor of art history emeritus at George Mason University.
World Art History Certificate elective: Earn 1 credit
