MonasteryMedersa Ben Youssef

out of 100 points
based on 10 reviews
No. 1 out of 5 Church / Cathedral / Monastery in Marrakech

Review

out of 100
Overall rating includes:
92
Accessibility
99
"Must See"-Factor
100
Budget Friendliness
95
Ambiance
100
Architecture

Reviews Church / Cathedral / Monastery Medersa Ben Youssef

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External reviews Church / Cathedral / Monastery Medersa Ben Youssef

_Other offline-travelg uide

90%

perfection!

The Ben Youssef Medersa (or Madrasa) may be recognisable to viewers of the 1998 film 'Hideous Kinky' in which it "stood in for" an Algerian Sufic retreat. Medersas are a type of "Koranic school" and this one dates to the 14th Century and was enlarged to "its current dimensions" in the mid 16th Century and then "polished up" in the late 1990s by the Ministry of Culture. You can now visit it for a cost of 30 dhirams. Visitors enter via a "long, cool passageway" that takes them to the courtyard where there's a real feel of "serenity" centered on a "water-filled basin". The facades are decorated w [more]

Fodors.com

100%

perfection!

Fodors describe the Medersa as being "an extraordinarily well preserved 16th-century Koranic school" and also the "largest such institution" in North Africa. Originally built in the 14th century, it has "tiny, upper-level rooms that look like monks' cells, arranged around inner courtyards" which housed many of the approximately "900 students from many Muslim countries" who studied there. When it was "almost completely" rebuilt in the 16th century, "Sultan Abdullah el Ghallib, of the famously refined Saadians" added the "incredibly refined Andalusian details". These carvings, especially in the [more]

Frommers.com

100%

perfection!

Frommers hails the Ben Youssef Medersa as "one of Marrakech's most important Islamic monuments" and describes the "former Koranic boarding school" as "a stunning example of the Saâdian dynasty's attention to detail and craftsmanship". The author states that this is "a peaceful and meditative place" but recommends visiting over lunchtime or late afternoon in order to avoid the huge crowd which would destroy this ambience. There is "an unusually large square courtyard" to be seen which is flanked by "wide, columned arcades" and "cell-like rooms" which served as quarters for the students. The "we [more]

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