Founded in 1325 in the heart of the medina, this school is a marvel of elegant mosaic tiles, magnificent cut plaster as fine as lace and beautiful original carved cedar. A renovation in 2019 opened the upstairs rooms as well, so you can get a taste of student life – strikingly austere, though each room does have its own letterbox. The institution functioned as a kind of prep school; typically students here advanced to the adjacent Kairaouine University.
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Medersa El Attarine
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
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The largest of the medina's several tanneries, Chouara is one of the city’s most iconic sights (and smells). Operating since at least the 16th century,…
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The most architecturally refined of Fez’s theological colleges was built by the Merinid sultan Bou Inan between 1351 and 1357. Beyond the massive brass…
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Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts & Crafts
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In a wonderfully restored early-18th-century funduq (inn used by caravans), the former rooms for travelling merchants are given over to displays of fine…
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Built in the 17th century to serve the megorashim (Jews descended from those expelled from Spain), this synagogue is trimmed in pretty herringbone green…
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The largest car-free urban area in the world, Fez El Bali (Old Fez) is a warren of twisting lanes and centuries-old monuments and mosques. As well…
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If you're interested in how Fez's beautiful pottery and tiles are made, head to Ain Nokbi, a district just outside the medina where potters were relocated…
1.36 MILES
Unless you have a special invitation to the palace grounds, you'll have to settle for admiring its seven imposing front gates, surrounded by fine tilework…
Nearby attractions
1. Kairaouine Mosque & University
0.04 MILES
Established in 859, the Kairaouine is the spiritual heart of Fez and, arguably, all Morocco. It is also considered the world's oldest university, though…
2. Chemmaine-Sbitriyine Funduq
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These two adjoining 13th-century fanadiq (inns used by caravans) have been thoroughly restored and host a number of artisans' workshops; of all the…
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Although it is in a mosque that's closed to non-Muslims, the tomb of Fez's founder (d. 828) is considered the spiritual heart of the city and is its most…
0.08 MILES
It may not be as lavishly ornamented as the Bou Inania or the Attarine, but this 1670 Quranic school has the great benefits of being very large and little…
5. Zawiya of Sidi Ahmed Tijani
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Algeria-born Sidi Ahmed Tijani settled in Fez and established the Tijaniya order in the late 18th century. It's now the largest Sufi order in West Africa,…
0.09 MILES
One of the medina's oldest marketplaces and also one of its most pleasant, this souq is dominated by a graceful plane tree amid stalls selling pottery and…
7. Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts & Crafts
0.13 MILES
In a wonderfully restored early-18th-century funduq (inn used by caravans), the former rooms for travelling merchants are given over to displays of fine…
0.16 MILES
The largest of the medina's several tanneries, Chouara is one of the city’s most iconic sights (and smells). Operating since at least the 16th century,…