Lugar de culto

Escuela del Hijo de José

Name: Escuela del Hijo de José
Address: Rue Assouel, Marrakech, Marrakech-Safi, MA

Recomendado por 273 personas locales,

Consejos de personas locales

Maria

July 15, 2022

Otherwise known as the Ben Youssef Madrasa, it is finally open to the public after many years of restoration. It is a beautiful building and it used the be one of the biggest Islamist schools of its time.

Simo

April 23, 2012

Beautiful example of Moroccan architecture, especially the inner courtyard. Don't miss the labyrinth of corridors and bedrooms of the building itself. It's a 15th century Koranic School. Worth a visit

Issam

January 9, 2020

"You who enter my door, may your highest hopes be exceeded” reads the inscription over the entryway to the Ali ben Youssef Medersa, and after almost six centuries, the blessing still works its charms on visitors. It was founded during the period of the Merenids (14th century) by the sultan Abu al-Hassan and allied to the neighboring Ben Youssef Mosque, this Quranic learning center was once the largest in North Africa, and remains among the most splendid. The building of the madrasa was re-constructed by the Saadian Sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib (1557–1574). In 1565 the works ordered by Abdallah al-Ghalib were finished, as confirmed by the inscription in the prayer room. Sight lines are lifted in the entry with carved Atlas cedar cupolas and mashrabiyya (wooden-lattice screen) balconies. The medersa’s courtyard is a mind-boggling profusion of HispanoMoresque ornament: five-colour zellije (mosaic) walls, stucco archways, cedar windows with weather-worn carved vines, and a curved mihrab (eastern-facing niche) of prized, milky-white Italian Carrara marble. The carvings contain no representation of humans or animals, as required by Islam, and consist entirely of inscriptions and geometric patterns. It hosted 130 student dormitory cells cluster around the richly decorated courtyard, for a total of about 900 students. One of its best known teachers was Mohammed al-Ifrani (1670-1745). Closed down in 1960, the building was refurbished and reopened to the public as a historical site in 1982.