Abstract:

North Africa is considered today as a geography including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Sudan. Throughout history, many dynasties such as Ancient Egypt, Carthaginians, Romans, Umayyads, Abbasids, Rustamids, Tolunids, Idrisids, Fatimids, Almoravids, Almohads, Mamluks, and Ottomans have ruled this region. In North Africa, where Muslims mostly ruled, the nationaliy, religious, secular and cultural views of the different rulers have also been reflected in the architecture of the cities in which they founded. One of the most notable structures emerged by this changing and developing architecture and the understanding of art are the minarets that have become one of the important parts of the mosques over time. The minarets built by different states at various times in the entire Islamic geography from east to west show architectural diversity. Although the minaret is an architectural element of a religious structure, it may have been influenced by the pre-Islamic cultural charasteristics of the regions it was built. Various minaret styles, which differ according to the regions, have motivated the researchers to think about on the origin of the minaret and the first minaret samples. As a result of this many different opinions have been put forward. In this study, after making a brief introduction outlined the views about the origins of the minaret as an architectural element, we will discuss the main subject, North African minarets, with their historical, architectural and architectural aspects. Since we personally visited and observed the minarets of Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, we will try to explain the minarets of these countries with more details.

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