Al-Attarine Madrasa

The madrasa’s name came from the souk Al-Attarine, a market of spices and perfume, meaning ‘The School of Perfumes’. The marinid rulers built many madrasas throughout their reign and promoted Sunni teachings. The Medersa El Attarine was built between 1323 and 1325, and it is said that the sultan Uthman II b. Ya’qub Ab Sa’id personally watched the works. 

The madrasa was idealized to be both an Islamic school and charitable institution, therefore requiring a charitable trust under the Islamic law (waqf) consisting of mormain properties. These would allow the flow and host of teachers, imam, accommodation for up to 60 students, and therefore the necessary revenues to sustain the operations of the place. 

The Medersa El Attarine is considered one of the most important of the marinids’ achievements and it serves two purpose, education and beauty, as it is harmoniously decorated and celebrates Moroccan architecture. As most madrasas, it contains a rectangular courtyard that opens to a prayer hall.

The exterior of the building does not show a lot, as it is very plain, but most of traditional Moroccan buildings are like that. The sophistication is reserved for its interior. The madrasa is a 2-floor building. The second floor contains 30 rooms which served as dormitories to students and on the first is where we can see all it can offer. 

One of the highlights of the madrasa (and the only room that non-Muslim visitors can enter) is the courtyard. The floor and lower walls are covered by mosaic tilework in zellij style, which is arranged in geometric patterns and features painted Arabic calligraphic inscriptions. Next, carved stucco, niches and arches, Moroccan motifs, a carved cedar wood and wooden eaves complete the decoration. The wooden cupola is also worth admiration as it presents geometric star patterns and it is one of the highlights of Marinid architecture heritage. 

The prayer hall is rectangular and elegant. The entrance shows an arch and the room is decorated with carved stuccos on the walls and piers, carved wooden arches, marble columns and glazed tile dados. It is possible to see the Spanish influence, as the glazed tiles evoke the Nasrid palace of Alhambra. 

Even though a school, the Medersa El Attarine served as a mosque too, having special rooms for official ceremonies. 

Other spaces worth mentioning at the Al-Attarin are the students’ accommodation, guesthouses and waqfs, all of which supported the madrasa’s role and gave to the place a sense of community.

The Medersa El Attarine is part of Fez medina, one of the most fantastic places you can visit in Morocco. It was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and tourism is a very important pillar there. The medina was founded in the IX century and has more than nine thousand alleys, which means you can spend a whole day there and it won’t be enough. It is an authentic place and an example of medieval town that preserves a great number of important buildings intrinsically related to the history of the city and its origins. The medina evolved as the city evolved, both Fez Wadi and the original town Fez el-Bali made of the medina a large Islamic metropolis with many monuments. Decoration, architecture and construction techniques were developed over 10 centuries and all come together within its walls, bringing together Oriental, Andalusian and African influences. For these reasons and for the culture and lifestyle that the medina still transmits it is a strong representation of wonderful heritage that persists despite changes and modern society.