Bou Inania Madrasa (Bou Inania Seminary), Fes (must see)

The Bou Inania Madrasa, built in the 1350s by the Marinid sultan Bou Inan, is where Fes quietly shows off its architectural confidence. Indeed, this was not just a religious school, but a carefully crafted declaration of purpose. The layout is clean and deliberate: two main sections split by a long corridor, with the teaching spaces on one side and an old ablutions annex on the other, now retired from duty. At the entrance, a flat-sided dome and a series of horseshoe arches set the tone, layered with stucco so fine it looks more like lace than stone.

As you step through, the mood changes at once. A narrow passage opens into a courtyard that feels carefully staged for maximum effect. A pool sits at the center, calm and reflective, while galleries line three sides and the prayer hall anchors the fourth.

Everything here pulls your eye downward and upward at the same time: green-tiled awnings, carved cedar wood, crisp stucco patterns, precise zellij tiles, and a floor that reads like a geometric puzzle. It’s detailed without being loud, rich without being overwhelming. The prayer hall remains much as it was centuries ago, while former student cells fill the surrounding levels. Heading up to the terrace, you’re rewarded with a broad view over the Medina rooftops—an instant reminder of where this madrasa sits within the city’s daily life.

What truly sets Bou Inania apart, though, is that it also functioned as a congregational mosque, something rare for a madrasa. During prayer times, access is restricted, but even from outside the prayer space, the mihrab draws attention. Its onyx columns echo the style of the Great Mosque of Córdoba, quietly linking Fes to the wider Islamic world. And if you entered the Medina through the Blue Gate, you may have already spotted the madrasa’s green-tiled minaret—an elegant signal that learning, worship, and architecture are still very much intertwined here.