Bab Oudaia — Rabat

Bab Oudaia is the ceremonial gate into the Kasbah of the Udayas, built around 1195 under Yacoub al-Mansour at the same time as the Hassan Tower and the gates of Marrakech. The horseshoe arch is framed by carved floral and palmette motifs and topped by a band of cursive Kufic inscription, all in pink Maamora sandstone. Inside, a bent entrance dog-legs left and right — standard Almohad defensive design — before opening onto the residential lanes of the kasbah.