The fortifications of Rabat

The city of Rabat was shaped by three successive fortifications built in the 12th, 17th, and 19th centuries by the Almohades, the Morisques, and the Alaouites. These walls, enclosing the western and southern parts of the city, were first constructed in 1197. The Almohad walls are between 7.55 and 10.31 meters high, with an average thickness of 2.37 meters.

A corner of the eastern edge of the south face, stretching over 400 meters, was lost during the first quarter of the 20th century as the city expanded. Protection comes from barbican towers and a parapet protected by a walkway of an average width of 1.37 meters, topped with pyramidal merlons featuring loopholes. Today, 74 of these towers remain, though time has taken its toll, leaving some shattered, crumbled, or assimilated. The walkway has vanished in many places due to erosion, only a fragment, stretching between Bab er-Rouah and Bab el-Hadd, remains intact.

Two bastions mark the western edge of the wall: one is a three-sided bastion dating from the Alaouite era, featuring three gun embrasures, and the other is a four-sided bastion at the junction of the western and southern faces. The latter features two gun embrasures and two loopholes and serves as a guard post for the royal palace. Originally, the Almohad wall was pierced by five gates, each with a width of four cubits. On the southern face, Bab Zaer remains the sole gate, while Bab el-Alou is situated 544 meters from the ocean.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons