The mosque Koutoubia is located at the north of the boulevard Mohamed V, close to the consulate of France which was the house of BA HMAD. The name of Koutoubia seems to derive from " kutubiyyun ", in reference to a souk of booksellers which existed near the site of the mosque. It is a jewel of the art of the Almohades, date of XII century which rises on the site of a palate Almoravide, Ksar El Hajar, " Palate of the stones ", destroyed by the new Masters of Marrakesh into 1147.
The koutoubia is built in two phases by Abdelmoumen into 1157 and 1163. Its minaret is one of the marvellous monuments of Islam. Set up out of freestone, it comprises, inside, not a staircase, but a slope which gives access covered rooms of cupolas like its top. Its height is 77 Mr. It comprises decorative registers on the higher frontages made of green and white ceramics squares. The mosque has a square form of 218 m comprising 7 spans.
Koutoubia sheltered a Minbar, recently restored and exposed to the Badiâ palate. This Minbar, masterpiece of Islamic art, was carried out in Cordoue on the order of the sultan Almoravide Ali Ben Youssef (1106-1143). It was transferred in its mosque to Marrakesh. Almohades reflect it in Koutoubia in which it functioned until the years 1960.