Ben Youssef Madrasa

Tucked away from the hustle of the labyrinthine streets of Marrakech’s Medina district sits Ben Youssef Madrasa. Once the largest Islamic college in Morocco and among the most important institutions in northern Africa, today it also serves as a museum and early Andalusian ornamental sanctuary.

Built in the fourteenth century to honor Sultan Ali bin Yusuf, the original, mosque-adjacent school building underwent a regal reconstruction in 1565.

For four centuries students studied and lived in the dormitories within the madrasa. It was designed to accommodate a large number of students, but as many as seven scholars would share a single bedroom. The small, compact study cells were intentionally cramped, with low ceilings and narrow openings. The purpose was to encourage students to focus solely on their studies. Claustrophobia was not taken into consideration.

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