Al-Attarine Madrasa

The Attarine was built between 1323 and 1325 by the Marinid sultan Abu Said Uthman as a residential college for students at the Quaraouiyine, and it is generally considered the finest of the Fes madrasas - which in this context means the most completely and confidently decorated. The courtyard is small, perhaps ten metres, with a marble basin at its centre, and every surface above it is worked: zellige mosaic in the lower registers, then carved stucco with Kufic and cursive inscription bands, then carved cedar in the cornices and the lattice screens of the upper storey, where the students' cells were. The proportion of ornament to space is the point - it is a small room made enormous by the density of what is on it. The name comes from the attarine, the spice and perfume sellers whose souk is at the door.

History

The madrasa was built between 1323 and 1325 on the orders of the Marinid sultan Abu Sa'id Uthman II, who, the chronicle Rawd el-Qirtas says, watched its foundations being laid in the company of local scholars; the work was supervised by Sheikh Abu Muhammad Abdallah ibn Qasim al-Mizwar. Like the nearby Saffarin and Mesbahiyya madrasas it served the Qarawiyyin, lodging students from outside Fez, and a charitable endowment paid for an imam, muezzins, teachers and rooms for 50 to 60 students, most of them from towns of the north-west such as Tangier, Larache and Ksar el-Kebir. It takes its name from the Souk al-Attarine, the market of spice and perfume sellers, and has been a listed historic monument since 1915 (Wikipedia, Al-Attarine Madrasa).

What's there

• A ten-metre courtyard - small in plan and worked on every surface above the floor.
• Three registers - zellige below, carved stucco with inscriptions above, cedar at the top.
• Students' cells - small rooms behind cedar screens on the upper floor.
• The spice souk at the door - the attarine that gave the madrasa its name.

When to go

October to April; early morning for light in the courtyard and no groups. An hour.

Before you go

It is small and fills quickly with tour groups - go at opening. Upper-floor access is sometimes restricted. Entry is charged. Guides at the door expect payment whether or not you asked.

Nearby

The Quaraouiyine is adjacent; the Bou Inania madrasa is west along the Talaa Kebira.

Key facts