Ben Youssef Madrasa

What it is and why it matters

The Ben Youssef madrasa was for four centuries the great Quranic school of Marrakesh, where mostly theology students from outside the city lived and studied. It was founded by the Marinid sultan Abu al-Hasan around 1350, next to the old Ben Youssef mosque, from which it takes its name. The Saadian sultan Abdallah el-Ghalib rebuilt and extended it in 1564–1565, and the building you see is essentially his. It has been a protected monument since 1916 and is part of the Marrakesh medina, a World Heritage site since 1985.

After a restoration decided in 2017, it reopened to the public in April 2022. Unlike mosques, which in Morocco cannot be visited if you are not Muslim, the madrasa is open to everyone.

What you see

• The courtyard. It is the heart of the building: a marble courtyard with a long pool in the centre, surrounded by walls decorated from top to bottom. Below, zellige; in the middle, plaster stucco from a quarry at Asni, near Marrakesh, carved on the spot; above, Middle Atlas cedar in beams, lintels and cornices.
• The prayer hall. At the back of the courtyard, with local pink marble columns and, at the mihrab, white marble columns that perhaps came from Carrara.
• The students' cells. The building is square, with an upper floor and 132 student rooms. Some sources say it housed up to 900 students. Look into one: they are tiny.

Tour it slowly and in silence: the charm is in the details of the stucco and wood, and in the light that enters the courtyard.

Hours and price

Open every day from 9:00 to 19:00. Entry costs 50 DH for adults and 10 DH for under-12s; groups of more than 20 people pay 30 DH per person. At the moment tickets are only sold at the ticket office: online sales are under maintenance. Carry cash just in case. Allow about 45 minutes.

Guided visits are booked with the madrasa itself by phone, on +212 524 38 41 12, or by email through its website.

Getting there

It is on Rue Assouel, in the north of the medina, about 15 minutes' walk from Jemaa el-Fna across the medina souks. Very close is the Almoravid dome, which was restored together with the madrasa. No cars enter the medina: arrive on foot. If you get lost in the souks, ask for "Medersa Ben Youssef", which everyone knows.

When to go

First thing, at 9:00: the courtyard with few people is something else, and the light comes in low. From mid-morning the groups arrive. It is a good visit for the hot hours, because inside it is cool.

With children and accessibility

It is a short visit, which children find surprising for the water in the pool and the small cells. The marble floor is slippery. The cells on the upper floor are reached by narrow stairs. Ask at the ticket office about wheelchair access to the courtyard.

Rules

Although it is not a mosque, it is a religious building: shoulders and knees covered, and do not touch the stucco.

Nearby

In the same north of the medina is Le Jardin Secret, for a break in the shade. For lunch, Café des Épices and Nomad, in the spice square. For sleeping nearby, Riad Yasmine.