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The Medersa Ben Youssef is a must-see to discover when visiting Marrakech. It is a jewel of Saadian architecture.
This Koranic school was founded at the beginning of the 14th century and then enlarged and redecorated by the Saadians in the 14th century. Located in the medina of Marrakech, the medersa was for four centuries a home for students in various sciences, notably theology. It had 132 rooms for students from outside Marrakech. It became the largest school in North Africa with 900 students who came to study law and theology (competing with the one in Fez, it closed in 1962 and became a museum).
Even if you are not Muslim, you can visit the Medersa, which is a remarkable symbol of Arab-Andalusian aesthetics.
Once through the bronze door decorated with beautiful wood carvings and mosaics, you arrive in a splendid courtyard of Carrara marble, surrounded by walls finely decorated with relieves and colours. On the first floor, one can see the 132 student cells arranged around a series of seven patios in a sumptuous architecture. A prayer room with three marble columns and a magnificent cedar dome.
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