The gate of Kasbah CherardaThe walls of Kasbah Cherarda, and a separate bastion tower that belonged to the former gate called Bab Segma.
Kasbah Cherarda (Arabic: قصبة شراردة) is a kasbah in the city of Fez, Morocco, located on the northern outskirts of Fes el-Jdid. It was initially referred to as Kasbah el-Khemis, the "Thursday Fort" (Arabic: قصبة الخمس) as there was an open market held every Thursday outside the wall.[1]
The name cherarda (or sherarda) originates from the name of an Arab tribe whose qaid had also previously built a kasbah here in order to protect the tribe's granaries.[2]: 295–296 The current kasbah was created by the Alaouite sultan Mulay al-Rashid after he took over the city in 1666, acting as a garrison fort to house his tribal troops (referred to as guich or "army" tribes).[3][1][4][2] It covers a large rectangular area measuring 400 by 550 meters.[2]: 294 The tribe of Ashrafah occupied the fortress during the war between the Sultan and his brother Mohammed, before being deported.[4] It constituted one of a number of similar fortifications established across the outskirts of Fes, throughout the city's history. Today the kasbah is occupied by a hospital, a high school, and, since 1959–60, a branch or annex of the University of al-Qarawiyyin.[5]
^ abcMétalsi, Mohamed (2003). Fès: La ville essentielle. Paris: ACR Édition Internationale. ISBN978-2867701528.
^Le Tourneau, Roger (1949). Fès avant le protectorat : étude économique et sociale d'une ville de l'occident musulman. Casablanca: Société Marocaine de Librairie et d'Édition.
