Medersa Ben Youssef

Ibn Youssef School (Mederasa) is one of the beautiful monuments in the city of Marrakech; the school is located deep in the old city near the famous Jemaa El Fna Square. For over four centuries it is been a heaven for scientists and a popular destination for students looking for knowledge in various religious science. The school building dates back to the period 1564 - 1565 during the Saadi Sultan Abdullah Al Ghaleb . The area is of about 1680 square meters, and has a door covered with bronze. The access to the interior is via a covered walkway ceiling brightened through a series of openings to reach the crossing which leads to different parts of the building.
The house of prayer is located in the northern side were used to be the former library for the school. The Ablutions room is located on the beginning of the western passage. The upstairs is similar to the first floor and it is a home for students, the building is estimated to have 132 rooms for students.
The diversity of building materials and decoration makes Ben Youssef school a masterpiece of architecture. The wood of cedar trees brought from the Atlas area is all over the school, in the domes and the prayer hall and ceilings corridors; also the Italian marble was used a lot in this school especially in the prayer hall. Adding to the beauty of the building is the use of tiles - mosaic – with different colors and forms of engineering.