Main courtyard
Marble fountain, carved cedar.
R Prazeres — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jorge Cancela — CC BY 2.0 · R Prazeres — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ian Cochrane from Melbourne, Australia — CC BY 2.0 · R Prazeres — CC BY-SA 4.0
Cherratine Madrasa, a students' college in central Fes el Bali, was founded in 1670 by Moulay al-Rashid, the first Alawite sultan of Morocco, and is also called the Rashidiya after him. Its name, meaning rope makers, comes from their market nearby. One of the largest madrasas in Fes and much plainer than the Marinid ones, it lies within the UNESCO-listed Medina of Fez. Tradition says it replaced an older madrasa pulled down after unruly students desecrated it, perhaps explaining its regular plan in the crowded medina. A wooden beam over the main door records al-Rashid's foundation; he died in 1672, and an inscription around the mihrab praises his half-brother and successor Moulay Ismail, who by one account finished it. Considered the start of a new official drive for learning, it became a model for later Alawite buildings. A corridor from the decorated doorway leads to a near-square courtyard with a marble fountain basin, ringed by galleries with carved cedar lintels and stucco corbels. Three horseshoe arches open into the prayer hall, with its stucco mihrab, one of the oldest surviving Alawite places of prayer. On two upper floors, over a hundred small student rooms surround galleried inner courtyards. It stands about 110 m south of al-Qarawiyyin, 125 m from the Attarine Madrasa, 120 m from the Zawiya of Moulay Idris II and 300 m from the Chouara Tannery, in straight lines. Recently restored and open to all visitors, it needs 20 to 45 minutes and is usually far quieter than the Bou Inania Madrasa, about 850 m west.
Marble fountain, carved cedar.
Small rooms round inner courts.
A mihrab of carved stucco.
Rue Cherratine, just south of al-Qarawiyyin, Fes el Bali
Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque and UniversityOne of the oldest and most famous mosques of the Islamic world, founded by Fatim1 minute walk4.5
Zawiya of Moulay Idris IIThe Zawiya of Moulay Idris II, in the heart of Fes el Bali, holds the tomb of Id1 minute walk
Al-Attarine MadrasaA small, exquisite madrasa built by the Marinid sultan Abu Said Uthman II betwee2 minutes walk4.4
Nejjarine Museum of Wooden ArtsA historic funduq, an inn for merchants and travellers, in the heart of Fes el B3 minutes walk4.6
Fes el Bali (Old Medina)The oldest part of Fes, founded by the Idrisids as their capital between 789 and4 minutes walkStudents and teachers from outside Fes who came to study or teach at al-Qarawiyyin. By the nineteenth or early twentieth century most of its residents came from Algeria, the Rif, the Tafilalt and other eastern regions.
On foot, as the lanes of Fes el Bali are car-free: petits taxis stop at Place R'cif, about 200 m south-east in a straight line. From Bab Bou Jeloud, about 1 km away in a straight line, walk down Tala'a Kebira to its end at the nearby Attarine Madrasa.