Ben Salah Mosque
The Ben Salah Mosque or Ben Saleh Mosque (, ) is a 14th-century Marinid mosque in the historic medina of Marrakesh, Morocco. It is the only major surviving Marinid-era monument in Marrakesh and is notable for its fine minaret. Historical background Details of the mosque's foundation and construction are not entirely clear. An inscription on the monument itself states that construction of the minaret began in August 1321. According to historian Ibn al-Muwaqqit, the construction of the mosque may have begun in 1318-1319. This chronology (i.e. construction in 1318-1321) is the most plausible and would mean that the mosque was built under the reign of Marinid Sultan Abu Sa'id Uthman (ruled 1310-1331), who also built some of the madrassas in Fez (e.g. the Madrassa al-'Attarin). The mosque is named after a local saint, Muhammad ben Salah (or Ibn Salih) to whom it is dedicated and around whose tomb it was built. Little is recorded about this figure, however, other than that folklore claims he was a simple butcher with the gift of foresight. A madrasa was built next to the mosque by the Alaouite sultan Moulay Rashid around 1669-1671. As of 2012, there were plans to convert the madrasa into