Ben Youssef Madrasa

The madrasa's floor plan occupies a nearly square space measuring approximately 40 by 43 meters.[6]^:130[1] The building is entered from a single street entrance, from which a narrow corridor leads to a vestibule chamber, which in turn gives access to the central courtyard.[10] This process of entry, like in many Islamic buildings, is carefully designed to inspire revelation and astonishment in an unexpected opening of space into the main courtyard.[10] The layout of the building centers around the main courtyard, which is surrounded by east and west galleries and student dormitories on the upper and lower levels.[10] Like many Islamic buildings, the courtyard is itself centered around a large shallow reflective pool, measuring approximately 3 by 7 meters.[10] At the southeastern end of the courtyard is another large chamber which served as a prayer hall, equipped with a mihrab (niche symbolizing the direction of prayer) featuring especially rich stucco decoration.[6]

As in classic Marinid madrasas constructed during the century, the layout of the Ben Youssef madrasa contains student dormitory cells clustered around the first and second levels of the central courtyard. After its reconstruction in 1565, the layout of the madrasa was revised and the dormitories are now accessed via a series of smaller secondary courtyards outside the perimeter of the main courtyard.[10] Together, the madrasa consisted of 130 student rooms and housed up to 800 students; making it the largest madrasa in Morocco.[10][2]

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  Street entrance of the madrasa today
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  Entrance corridor of the madrasa
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  View of the main courtyard and its reflective water basin
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  One of the galleries along the side of the courtyard; the upper floor windows belong to the dormitory rooms
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  One of the small courtyards serving the student dormitories
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  Mihrab of the prayer hall with carved stucco decoration, including darj w ktaf motifs and an Arabic inscription in kufic script

The ornamentation of the Ben Youssef Madrasa derives closely from that of earlier Moroccan and Andalusian architecture, which makes use of pools, gardens, fountains, and surfaces covered in zellij (mosaic tilework) and intricately carved stucco and wood.[5] The main central courtyard of the madrasa communicates a strong visual experience for visitors and students via these embellishing elements and their symmetrical arrangement. This courtyard is entered from the vestibule via a wooden screen (mashrabiyya) under a monumental archway which is itself decorated with carved stucco.[10] Although the student cells that surround the courtyard have little to no interior decorative elements, the small secondary courtyards that grant access to them do bear some stucco and wooden decoration.[10] The motifs carved into wood and stucco include traditional elements such as arabesques, sebka, calligraphic inscriptions, and muqarnas, as well as more distinctly Saadian-era motifs such as pine cones.[6]

The street entrance of the madrasa is overlooked by an elaborate muqarnas (stalactite or honeycomb-like sculpting) cupola in front of the doorway. The doors of the madrasa are plated with bronze forming an interlacing geometric pattern and enhanced with shallow carved arabesque motifs.[6] The cedar wood lintel above the doors is carved with an Arabic inscription on an arabesque background. The inscription names and praises Sultan Abdallah as the builder of the madrasa.[6] Numerous other inscriptions are also found throughout the building on various surfaces, often consisting of Qur'anic verses. The large Kufic inscription around the arch of the mihrab, for example, includes the basmala and the tasliyya followed by verse 36 and the beginning of verse 37 from the Surah an-Nur.[6]^:148

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  The muqarnas cupola in front of the madrasa's street entrance
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  Detail of the bronze plating on the doors of the madrasa's entrance
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  Example of carved cedar wood ceiling with geometric star patterns (over the madrasa's vestibule)
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  Entrance to the central courtyard adorned with cedar wood screen (mashrabiya) and carved stucco around the archway
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  Carved stucco and wood decoration of the courtyard, with a variety of motifs including arabesques, calligraphy, pine cones, and darj w ktaf
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  One of the niches on the walls of the courtyard with stucco carved into muqarnas
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  Zellij mosaic tilework in the madrasa
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  One of the Saadian-era carved marble panels at the entrance to the prayer hall
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  Arabesque and pine cone motifs along with Kufic inscriptions around the mihrab
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  The muqarnas dome inside the mihrab; the sides are also covered in carved stucco with arabesque and pine cone motifs