Bou Inania Madrasa

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Madrasa Bou Inania of Fes

The Madrasa Bou Inania (also Bu Inaniya) in Fes, Morocco, is a madrasa founded in AD 1351–6 by Abu Inan Faris who also founded the Madrasa Bou Inania in Meknes. It is widely acknowledged as a marvel of Marinid architecture. "Bou Inania" comes from the first part of the sultan's name "Abou Inan". The madrasa functioned as both an educational institute and as a congregational mosque at the same time. It is the only madrasa in Fes which has a minaret. Opposite the main doorway of the madrasa is the entrance to the dar al-wudu (ablutions house). Left and right of the central court are class rooms.

According to history religious leaders of the Karaouine Mosque advised Abu Inan Faris to build this Madrasa.^[1] It was the last madrasa to be build by the Marinids. The madrasa became one of the most important religious places of Fes and Morocco, gaining the status of Grand Mosque.

The madrasa has been renovated in 18th century. During the reign of Sultan Mulay Sliman entire sections were reconstructed. In the 20th century, major restoration work was carried out to the load-bearing structure, the plaster, wood and decoration.

The madrasa is one of the few religious places in Morocco that is accessible to non-Islamic tourists. Opposite the Madrasa Bou Inania is the Dar al-Magana a wall with a hydraulic clock which was built together with the madrasa.

[edit] References

^ Rough Guide to Morocco, ISBN 978-1843538615

Hillenbrand, Robert. 1994. Islamic Architecture. NY: Columbia UP, 240-251.
Hoag, John. 1987. Islamic Architecture. NY: Rizzoli, 57-59.
Michell, George, ed. 1996. Architecture of the Islamic World. London: Thames & Hudson, 216.
Mohammed Mezzine (ed.), Andalusian Morocco: A Discovery in Living Art, 99. [1]
R. le Toureau, Fes in the Age of the Marinides, Oklahoma: Norman: 1961, pp. 120–7
Blair, Sheila S. ; Bloom, Jonathan M. The art and architecture of Islam, 1250 - 1800. New Haven and London : Yale University Press, 1994. pp. 122 – 123.