In Morocco, the Great Mosque of Tinmel rises from its ruins after the 2023 earthquake

In Morocco, the time has come to rebuild a large 12th-century mosque destroyed by the powerful and devastating earthquake of September 8, 2023. A historic place of worship that served as a source of inspiration for the much-visited sacred sites of Marrakech and Seville.

The Great Mosque of Tinmel is being rebuilt. The historic place of worship is among the buildings that were already in poor condition before the 2023 earthquake that killed about 3,000 people, injured 5,600, and damaged some 60,000 homes in nearly 3,000 villages in and around the High Atlas Mountains. After nearly 900 years, the Great Mosque of Tinmel had fallen into ruins—its minaret toppled, its prayer hall filled with rubble, its exterior walls toppled—and was undergoing an 18-month restoration project before the earthquake.