Hassan Tower Photo

Photographer’s Note

Hassan Tower or Tour Hassan (Arabic: صومعة حسان) is the minaret of an incomplete mosque in Rabat, Morocco. Begun in 1195, the tower was intended to be the largest minaret in the world along with the mosque, also intended to be the world's largest. In 1199, sultan Yacoub al-Mansour died, and construction on the mosque stopped. The tower only reached 44m (140ft), about half of its intended 86m (260ft) height. The rest of the mosque was also left incomplete, with only the beginnings of several walls and 200 columns being constructed.

Instead of stairs, the tower is ascended by ramps. The minaret's ramps would have allowed the muezzin to ride a horse to the top of the tower to issue the call to prayer.

Yacoub al-Mansour was a member of the Almohad Dynasty, a berber, muslim empire in West Africa and Spain. The tower, according to tradition, was designed by an architect named Jabir who used similar a similar design plan for Hassan's sister tower, the Giralda in Seville, Spain. Both of the towers were modeled on the minaret of another one of Jabir's designs, the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech. Renaissance Spaniards later added a western style top to the Giralda, which was converted from a minaret to a bell tower for the Seville Cathedral after the Reconquista.

The tower, along with the remains of the mosque and the modern Mausoleum of Mohammed V, forms the most important historical and tourist complex in Rabat.

ryno, parbo, miuky, cunejo200, stego, yannick, mirko_ninkovic, john_c, AiresSantos, Ramy, abulafia has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ryno (4621) 2007-01-23 10:29

I like this photo Marjan. Excellent colour and sharpness, a good POV, and an interesting background tower. Also great detail in the main focus of your shot, the ornament in the foreground. I just feel that the image would even have been more interesting if a human figure had been included as a further point and interest and for scale (not always possible, I know.) A great shot anyway! Regards,
Ryno

parbo (11014) 2007-01-23 10:52

Hi Marjan,

What a precise works there! I like yellow brass and its unique motifs a lot with terracotta colored minaret a lot. Repeating roof objects are creating good depth and perspective under cloudy sky. Congratulations.

Friendly Regards,

Ertugrul

cunejo200 (7243) 2007-01-23 11:10

Hello Marjan,
A beautiful image with wonderful colors and DOF. Beautiful details of Moroccan architecture. Greetings! Danilo

ptibelo (2974) 2007-01-23 17:25

Belle palette de couleurs avec un bon premier plan..très clean.
JMarie

tjanze (5674) 2007-01-24 3:14

Zdravo Marjan!
Odlična kompozicija in globinska ostrina.Barve so super.
Dramatično nebo lepo deluje kot ozadje.Fotografija mi je všeč.Edino kar mi manjka gor je kakšen človek.Bi bilo dobro za merilo prostora,pa še zanimive face so.Vsaj za nas evropejce.
Pozdrav!

miuky (3335) 2007-01-24 6:24

hehe, vidi na, ki je bilo slabo vreme na dopustu
slika je krasna, oblaki debeli lepi in nič kaj prijetni za dopustovanje. super ostrina
uživaj, M.
Jutri se vrnem:)

stego (22448) 2007-01-24 18:06

Hi Marjan,
Very well seen and captured. Much clever pov indeed, excelent sharpness, colors and clarity.
Much more impressive than my posts on the same place. 8-( :D
TFS, Regards, José.

yannick (1469) 2007-01-25 8:21

Hi Marjan,
I very much like this picture, first because the different elements are very nice by themselves, particularly this brass relique. And the structure of the picture is well organised, with all these lines oriented in just 3 directions.
Regards,
Yannick

mirko_ninkovic (484) 2007-01-25 10:03

zdravo Marjane,
This photo is very beautiful, with good composition, and great perspective. Beautiful contrast of minaret and blue sky. Really excellent job.
Mirko

carper (65646) 2007-01-25 10:48

very good photo here Marjan,
I realy like the good photo job here, a fantastic perspective, good pov and almost an 3Dshot, my compliments here.
gr. jaap

t0mmm1 (5434) 2007-01-25 15:33

Zdravo Marjan,
krasna kompozicija in krasni detajli v ospredju. Super fotka in super opis.
LP
Tomi

AiresSantos (42902) 2007-01-26 3:30

Hi Marjan,
Excellent colours and definition in this gorgeous picture. Very good POV and depth. I like how you framed the picture.
TFS and have a nice weekend
Aires

john_c (24635) 2007-01-26 10:28

Hi Marjan,
Outstanding imagery. The clarity of detail, the foreground artwork, and the depth in this vertical format all come together to make a memorable shot. Your informative note is much appreciated. Well done...later.
John

Ramy (771) 2007-03-06 3:51

Hello Marjan,
You have a wonderful gallery, and this picture has caught my eyes. I love the management of colors and the POV that you took this picture with. Its a marvelous view.
Well done. Regards, Ramy.

abulafia (4802) 2007-09-01 3:20

Hi Marjan
I like the composition here! the interesting foreground is a really good way of presenting this tower.
Nice
Harry