The Muslim West
Mosques: A Place for Prayer
The courtyard
The courtyard outside the prayer room is an open, porticoed space that is accessed directly from the street. Believers ready themselves for prayer by purifying their bodies by means of ritual ablutions, just as they purify their souls with prayer. Like the prayer room, the courtyard is also used as a meeting place by the community.
Almoravid Koubba

Hegira 6th century / AD 12th century
Almoravid
Marrakesh, Morocco
Ablutions are performed either at a font in the courtyard of the mosque or, less commonly, in the baths or koubba (qubba) provided at some mosques in an adjoining area along with the latrines.