Cherratine Madrasa

Cherratine was built in 1670 by the Alaouite sultan Moulay Rashid, three and a half centuries after the great Marinid madrasas, and the difference in priorities is immediately visible: where the Attarine spends everything on ornament in a tiny space, Cherratine is large, plain and organised for accommodation, with over a hundred small rooms on several floors arranged round three courtyards, housing students at the Quaraouiyine nearby. The decoration is concentrated at the entrance - a carved cedar door and a bronze-plated portal - and the rest is whitewash, brick and plain woodwork. It was in continuous use as student housing into the twentieth century and was restored in the 2010s. What it gives you that the Marinid madrasas do not is a sense of the institution as a functioning place with people living in it, rather than as an object of craftsmanship. It is also usually empty of visitors.

History

Work on the madrasa began on 17 December 1670 under the Alaouite sultan Moulay al-Rashid, replacing an older one, the Madrasa el-Lebbadin, which tradition says was pulled down after rowdy students had desecrated it; building on the old site may explain its regular rectangular plan in the heart of the crowded medina. Its name means the rope-makers, after a market nearby. Like the city's other madrasas it housed students and teachers from outside Fez who came to the Qarawiyyin, and by the 19th or early 20th century it lodged mainly students from Algeria, the Rif, the Tafilalt and other eastern regions; it has been a listed historic monument since 1917 (Wikipedia, Cherratine Madrasa).

What's there

• A 1670 foundation - Alaouite rather than Marinid, and built for capacity.
• Over a hundred rooms - small cells on several floors round three courtyards.
• Plain construction - whitewash and brick with the ornament kept to the entrance.
• A functioning hostel - in use as student housing into the twentieth century.

When to go

October to April. An hour. It is quiet at almost any time.

Practical notes

It is austere compared with the Attarine and Bou Inania, and visitors expecting the same ornament are disappointed. Stairs and upper floors are steep and narrow. Entry is charged. Signage is minimal.

Nearby

The Quaraouiyine is a short walk west; the Attarine madrasa is beyond it.

Key facts