Restoration of Tinmel's 12th-century great mosque ongoing one year after earthquake

One year after a devastating earthquake struck Morocco in September 2023, residents of the mountain village of Tinmel are working to rebuild their homes and the 12th-century Great Mosque of Tinmel. The quake killed nearly 3,000 people across Morocco, including 15 in Tinmel, and damaged almost 60,000 homes, according to government estimates.

The Great Mosque of Tinmel, a marvel of North African architecture, was built by the Almohad Caliph Abd al-Mu'min ibn Ali around 1153 in the village of Tinmel in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco and is enlisted in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. The mosque was undergoing restoration when the earthquake caused its domes, arches and minaret to collapse. Nadia El Bourakkadi, the conservationist overseeing the site, reflected on the mosque's resilience in a statement to local media, saying, «The mosque withstood centuries. It's the will of God».

Rebuilding the mosque using original materials is a government priority. Morocco's Ministries of Islamic Affairs and Culture have assembled a team of local experts, joined by an Italian architect Aldo Giorgio Pezzi who had also consulted on Casablanca’s Hassan II Mosque, to oversee the project. «We will rebuild it based on the evidence and remains that we have so it returns to how it was», Minister of Islamic Affairs Ahmed Toufiq told Associated Press (AP).

Residents hope restoring the mosque can reinvigorate one of Morocco's poorest areas. «It's our past», 32-year-old construction worker Redwan Aitsalah told AP as he rebuilt his home overlooking the ruins. For now, the mosque's remains are held up by scaffolding as villagers await its renaissance.