Ben Youssef Madrasa

About Ben Youssef Madrasa

Historic monument in Marrakesh, Morocco

The Ben Youssef Madrasa, beside the mosque of the same name in the northern medina, is one of the most famous madrasas in Morocco and was, at its height, the largest Islamic college in the Maghreb. A first madrasa was founded here by the Marinid sultan Abu al-Hasan in the 14th century; the Saadian sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib rebuilt it in 1564 to 1565, creating a high point of Saadian and Moroccan architecture. It taught Maliki law and Quranic sciences until it closed as a school in 1960, opened to visitors in 1982, and has been restored again in recent years. A narrow passage leads into a large open courtyard with a long pool that mirrors walls layered from colourful zellij tilework, through astonishingly fine carved stucco, to carved cedar at the top. On the south side is the prayer hall with its decorated mihrab and an 11th-century Andalusi marble basin. Around the courtyard and upstairs are about 130 small student rooms whose wooden windows look down on the court, giving a real sense of the students who lived and studied here for four centuries.

Where:

Marrakech, Morocco

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