Bab Mansour is the grand ceremonial gateway to the imperial kasbah of Sultan Moulay Ismail in Meknes, widely regarded as one of the most beautiful monumental gates in North Africa. Begun late in Moulay Ismail's reign, it was completed in 1732 by his son Moulay Abdallah and named after its architect, Mansour el-Aleuj, a Christian convert to Islam. Its façade is faced with green and white zellij tilework and carved Koranic inscriptions, framed by marble columns reused from the Roman ruins of Volubilis. It stands on the south side of Place El Hedim and has been part of Meknes's UNESCO World Heritage listing since 1996.
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