Marrakesh City Guide | Ben Youssef Medersa

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Djemâa el-Fna squareDjemâa el-Fna, at the heart of the Marrakesh Medina. The night-time entertainment of this mythical square amazes the most blasé of travellers. The several traditional festivities, stalls, restaurants or famous water-sellers make the Djemâa el Fna a must to visit.

The Djemâa el Fna square is an inescapable place in Marrakesh. A real central route of the Marrakesh Medina, it enables to take in the proliferation of life and activities that characterise the imperial town. The charm of the Djemâa el Fna square comes from the multitude of street-artists, stalls of dried fruit or orange juice freshly-pressed before you, and the multitude of small restaurants that take over its centre from early evening, and contribute to the scent of its surroundings. In the morning, you can taste excellent pancakes at the Toubkal café, at midday, you can take in the sun on the terrace of the Café de France and in the evening, you can take advantage of the dozens of musical and artistic shows there. At nightfall, a colourful crowd converges towards Djemâa el Fna in order to benefit from the coolness of the evening while watching family shows.

Ben Youssef Medersa

The Ben Youssef Medersa is a jewel of Arabo-Andalusian architecture.

The Ben Youssef Medersa may be visited without a guide. However, in order to take full advantage of the riches of this place, it is advisable to book the services of a guide or to have a quality tourist guide book such as the “Blue Guide".

The Ben Youssef Medersa is one of the jewels of Marrakesh. The current structure of this Koranic school was built around 1570 by the Saadians and restored in 1950. At the time of its splendour, the Ben Youssef medersa could house up to 900 students in the 150 cells of the building. This architectural characteristic makes this holy building the biggest medersa in the whole of the Maghreb region ( area of North Africa covered by Morocco, Tunisia , Algeria and Libya. Maghreb literaly means "where the sun sets!").

This masterpiece of holy architecture of the Marrakech Medina is surprising in some of its audacities. Thus, the architect put aside certain Arabo-Andalusian traditions, by setting the openings to certain cells on the roads of the Medina. In the cells, he also put windows that overlook one of the small courtyards structuring the building. The Ben Youssef Medersa is also fascinating by the traditional and decorative richness put into the preparation of the plaster walls and cedar decoration.

Practical information | BEN YOUSSEF MEDERSA

Place Ben Youssef
Medina
Marrakech
Tel. +212 (0) 24 39 09 11

Open every day from 9.00 to 18.30 heures
Entrance fee : 10 DH (Entrance included in a 50 DH pass including Medersa Ben Youssef - Marrakech Museum - Qoubba Almoravides)

PM Coupry | Marrakech City Guide

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