Ben Youssef Madrasa

What makes it special

For four centuries students lived and studied here, and the upper floor still holds their rooms. They are tiny and ring small light wells. Many have no window to the outside and take their light through latticed screens or small openings onto the courtyard.

Below, the courtyard is a masterpiece in its own right, and its strict symmetry is what to take in before the detail. Galleries border it on every side, set around a shallow central pool.

Every section of those galleries carries patterned zellige, with geometric and floral motifs, and intricate carved stucco. The doors and ceilings are carved cedar. In the stucco, look for the pentagons among the patterns.

Visiting

Walk the ground floor first, along the galleries to the prayer hall at the far end, which teachers and students used each day.

Then climb one of the two steep tiled staircases to the upper floor and look into the cells. Step out to the balustrades for the best views down over the galleries.

If the ground floor is crowded when you arrive, reverse the order. The upstairs passageways are often quieter, and the courtyard may have cleared by the time you come down.

Tips

The madrasa sits deep in the Marrakesh Medina, a 10 to 15 minute walk from Jemaa el-Fnaa through the souks, and the way is signposted. The entrance is on Rue Assouel.

Travel light. A large backpack is awkward in the narrow corridors and tight spaces inside, and on the stairs up to the cells.