Bab Agnaou
The Black people’s gate - باب أكناو
Marrakesh’s only surviving original Almohad city gate, Bab Agnaou is the main entrance to the Kasbah. The gate is older than the Kasbah however, as it dates from 1147; the Kasbah wasn't built until 1185.
The name Bab Agnaou translates as “Black people’s gate”, possibly meaning that it was used by the sultan's West African slaves, or possibly just that it was used by swarthy, tanned commoners rather than fair-skinned, sun-sheltered aristos.
In contrast to Marrakesh’s red ramparts, Bab Agnaou is made of blue-grey stone. It’s beautifully carved, with concentric decorative arches, scallops and floral motifs in the corners, and Koranic quotations across the top and down the sides in elegant kufic script.