Koutoubia: the Golden Orbs

Look up at the tip of the minaret. Above the lantern you'll see a pole with three gleaming spheres, decreasing in size; the largest is about two metres across. They're made of copper, but for centuries people in Marrakech have said they were solid gold.

1The sultana who broke her fast

The most popular version says that there were originally three spheres, and that the wife of Caliph Ya'qub al-Mansur had her jewellery melted down to make another, as penance for breaking her Ramadan fast for a few hours. Other versions speak of jinn guarding the treasure, or of thieves punished as they tried to steal it. Historians also point out that the legend was first told about the Kasbah Mosque, which has a similar finial.

2A mosque facing the wrong way

Here there's a genuinely curious fact. The Almohads accused the Almoravids of orienting their mosques incorrectly towards Mecca, and destroyed several of them. Yet the Koutoubia's own orientation doesn't match the true direction of Mecca either. The pillar bases you see to the northwest belong to the first mosque, built in 1147 and replaced shortly afterwards.

3The dove woman

On the esplanade there's a white dome: the tomb of Lalla Zohra, a pious woman who died in the early 17th century. Tradition says she was a woman by day and turned into a dove at night.

4What to look for

• The three spheres on the finial.
• Lalla Zohra's white dome, alone on the esplanade.
• The foundations of the first mosque, to the northwest.