Rabat
Hassan Tower
An emblematic monument of Rabat, the Hassan Tower rises above the city skyline. The vestige of a project to build a mosque by sultan Yacoub el Mansour (twelfth century), it dominates Rabat with its 44 metres, half of the initially planned height. Decorated on each of its four sides, its thick walls (2.5 m) house six small finely decorated rooms, accessed by a gently sloping ramp. Besides the former minaret now called the Hassan Tower, the only remains of the initial mosque is a vast esplanade dotted with some 400 ruined grey and pink marble columns. It all suggests a piece of contemporary art resulting from the fortunes of history.