Historic mountain Tinmel Mosque damaged

Morocco's deadly earthquake badly damaged one of the most important historical sites in the High Atlas mountains, an earth-and-stone mosque built by a medieval dynasty that ruled North Africa and Spain.

Moroccan media reported that parts of the Tinmel Mosque had collapsed. Photographs circulating online showed tumbled walls, a half-fallen tower and large piles of debris.

Middle East Eye could not immediately verify the images.

Tinmal mosque before and after 📷
Tinmal is a 12th-century mosque located in the village of Tinmel in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Although no longer operating as a mosque today, its remains are preserved as a historic site. It was built at the site where Ibn Tumart, the… pic.twitter.com/Hw9q1mCY29
— Kinetik (@KinetikNews) September 10, 2023

Responding to a Reuters question about the reported damage to Tinmel, a Moroccan culture ministry source said "the ministry has decided to restore it and will make budget for it", without giving details.

The 12th-century mosque was built where the Almohad dynasty established its first capital in a remote Atlas valley before going on to seize Marrakech, proclaim its leader caliph and march on across the region.

The United Nations cultural agency Unesco said it had heard of "very important destructions to the Tinmel Mosque", which had been proposed for listing as a World Heritage Site, but added it was still waiting to send a team to assess the damage.