Kasbah Gnawa
A 1708 fortress in Salé, now Africa's only circus school.
via Wikipedia: Kasbah Gnawa · see source
Kasbah Gnawa (Arabic: قصبة ڭناوة), also referred to as Kasbah of Gnaouas or Ismailian Kasbah, is a kasbah located in the city of Salé in Morocco, and is the only one on the right bank of the Bou Regreg river. Built in 1708 during the reign of Sultan Moulay Ismail, it originally housed the Jich Abid al-Bukhari, black slave guards from Western Sudan, to protect the coasts of Salé and Rabat. Today, the kasbah hosts Shemsy's, the national Moroccan circus school, which is the only circus school in Morocco and the whole of Africa.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Salé, Morocco
- Area
- 7000 sqm
- Founded
- 1708
- Founder
- Sultan Moulay Isma'il ibn Sharif
- Architecture
- Moroccan
Facts from the source article.
Background
The Kasbah Gnawa was originally one of the largest fortresses erected during the reign of Sultan Moulay Ismail in 1708. The Jich Abid al-Bukhari, black slave guards from Western Sudan, were placed there to protect the coasts of Salé and Rabat against attempts of penetration and foreign occupation. The guards were later accused of disrespecting the honor and virtue of local women, which provoked a violent reaction from the inhabitants, who formed a group led by the governor Abdelhaq Fennich, and attacked the kasbah in 1758.
After the death of Moulay Ismail, the monument was devastated due to riots and internal wars. The Kasbah was thus forgotten until the arrival of Hubert Lyautey in 1912, as the first general resident of France in Morocco. During the First World War, it served as a gathering point for the Moroccan infantry battalions who successively stayed there while awaiting their departure for the various fronts in France and the East.
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