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Unknown to the world before the advent of the Almohads, the city of Tinmel is still today one of the most beautiful villages in the Al Houz region
Tinmel, the home of the Almohads
Little is still known about the birth of Tinmel, but all experts agree that his name rose to prominence with the exploits of the Almohads. The latter were initially a religious movement founded by Ibn Tumart, an Amazigh scholar originally from these places. Specifically, after having incited the wrath of the Almoravids in 1120, Ibn Tumart found refuge in the cave of Ingiliz, where he proclaimed himself Mahdi, going a few years later to today’s Tinmel.
It was at that point that the Almohads proclaimed the city their greatest centre, starting from here all their attacks against the Almoravids, who fell in 1147 following the capture of Marrakech.
The Tinmel Mosque
The capital at that point was moved to the “Red City”, but precisely as testimony to its spiritual heritage, the Tinmel Mosque was built here in 1156, one of the jewels of Almohad architecture, so much so that it has many similarities with the Kutubiyya Mosque of Marrakech. Thanks to the new dynasty, Tinmel became one of the greatest spiritual centers of the caliphate, attracting pilgrims from all over Morocco. Unfortunately, in the long run this became its curse, as the Merinids, the next dynasty, were particularly fierce towards this city, blocking its development in every way.
After centuries of ruins, starting from the 20th century the first restoration works were carried out on the mosque, making it, starting from 1995, a true UNESCO cultural heritage and allowing the entire inhabited center to re-emerge from the ashes. Unfortunately, the earthquake of September 9, 2023 heavily damaged the structure and the entire village, but the Moroccan government has assured that it will do everything to restore it to its former glory.
Let’s help the Moroccan people
If you want to help the Moroccan people, you can find here the links to the fundraisers of: “Roba da Marocchini” (together with the Jasmine Association), “Islamic relief“, “Fatima El Mouh” (together with the Brotherhood association) and “Mutuo Soccorso Milano “. Do you have any other fundraisers to report? Write to me on Facebook, Telegram and Instagram, right now we need all the help we can get.
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