University of Al-Quaraouiyine

Fatima al-Fihri, whose family had come to Fes from Kairouan in Tunisia, founded a mosque here in 857 or 859, by the traditional account, with money she inherited, and the teaching that grew up around it over the following centuries has continued since - which is why the Guinness records and UNESCO both describe Quaraouiyine as the oldest existing, continually operating degree-granting educational institution in the world. It taught law, theology, grammar, astronomy and medicine, and Ibn Khaldun, Maimonides and Leo Africanus are among those connected to it. Non-Muslims cannot enter the mosque and the standard experience is glimpses through its doorways from the surrounding lanes, which give the courtyard, the fountains and the green tiles in fragments. The library, which holds manuscripts including a ninth-century Quran and a copy of Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah in his own hand, was restored between 2012 and 2016 under the architect Aziza Chaouni and now admits visitors to part of it.

History

In the 9th century Fez was the capital of the Idrisids, and according to the Rawd al-Qirtas of Ibn Abi Zar the mosque was founded in 857 or 859 by Fatima al-Fihri, daughter of a wealthy merchant whose family had come from Kairouan, hence its name, while her sister Mariam founded the al-Andalusiyyin Mosque; modern historians question the story of the two sisters as too neat, and a foundation inscription found under centuries of plaster in the 20th century complicates it further. Some scholars think teaching took place here early, the historian Mohammed Al-Manouni dates its role as a school to the Almoravids, who greatly enlarged the mosque, and Évariste Lévi-Provençal to the Marinid period, when Sultan Abu Inan Faris founded its library in 1349, which still holds a 9th-century Quran on gazelle parchment. It was run as a madrasa until after the Second World War, joined Morocco's state university system in 1963 and took the name University of Al Quaraouiyine two years later, and UNESCO and Guinness World Records cite it as the oldest continually operating institution of higher learning (Wikipedia, University of al-Qarawiyyin).

What's there

• A ninth-century foundation - endowed, by tradition, by Fatima al-Fihri.
• Doorway glimpses - the courtyard and green tiles seen from the lanes by non-Muslims.
• The restored library - reopened in 2016, with part of it accessible.
• Manuscripts - including a ninth-century Quran and Ibn Khaldun in his own hand.

When to go

October to April. An hour. Prayer times close the doorways to view.

What to expect

Non-Muslims cannot enter the mosque - the view is through doorways only. Library access is limited and manuscripts are not generally on open display. The lanes around it are dense and easy to lose. Guides in the area are persistent.

Nearby

The Attarine madrasa is adjacent; the Zaouia of Moulay Idriss II is close.

Key facts