Madrasa Bū ʿInānīya of Meknes
| Madrasa Bu Inānīya | |
|---|---|
UNESCO world heritage 
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| Madrasa Bu Inānīya |
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| National territory: |
 Morocco
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| Type: | Culture |
| Criteria : | (ii) (iv) |
| Reference No .: | 793 |
| UNESCO region : | Africa |
| History of enrollment | |
| Enrollment: | 1996 (session 20) |
The Bou Inania Medersa ( Arabic المدرسة البوعنانية, DMG al-Madrasa al-Būʿināniyya ) in Meknes is one of the most artistically important historical Koran schools in Morocco . As part of the old town ( medina ) of Meknes it belongs since 1996 to UNESCO - World Heritage Site .
location
The Medersa Bou Inania is opposite the Great Mosque and only about 150 m north of the Place El Hedim on the eastern edge of the medina of Meknes.
history
The medersa was built by order and at the expense of the Merinid sultan Abu l-Hasan (r. 1331-1351), but was only completed under his son Abū Inān Fāris (r. 1351-1358), whose name it also bears. It was restored during the French colonial rule over Morocco and in the 1990s.
architecture
The medersa is located in a building which is closed on all sides and which is only exposed to light from the uncovered courtyard area that slopes slightly towards the center. Around the rectangular inner courtyard with its central fountain shell made of white marble leads an approximately 1.50 m wide corridor, the tile floor of which was used by the Koran students for studying, eating and sometimes sleeping. The access, which can be reached via a large number of arches and wall openings, could be separated from the inner courtyard with the help of wooden partitions ( mashrabiyyas ) . The remaining pillars and wall segments are clad with tile ornaments up to a height of about 1.80 m, which have a decorative, cooling, dirt and water-repellent effect at the same time; It ends with a volume of black calligraphy containing verses from the Koran . Above this begins a zone with a variety of whitewashed stucco decoration , which is loosened up from above by parts of the likewise richly decorated cedar beams, the eaves edge of which protrudes about 1 m into the courtyard.
Behind the small wooden windows of the upper floor there is another passage from which the unadorned bedrooms of the Koran students could be reached.
The Medersa impresses both with the balance of its proportions as well as with its extraordinary material aesthetics and its almost exuberant decoration, which leaves no part of the wall surfaces unworked.
MASHRABIYA lattice with Kufi -Schrift
Wall decor made of tiles
Font tiles and stucco decor
Window to the courtyard with stucco decoration
literature
- Arnold Betten: Morocco. Antiquity, Berber Traditions and Islam - History, Art and Culture in the Maghreb. DuMont, Ostfildern 2012, ISBN 978-3-7701-3935-4 , pp. 161f.
See also
Web links
- Madrasa Bū ʿInānīya - photos + information
- Madrasa Bū ʿInānīya - photo + brief information (Archnet, English)
Coordinates: 33 ° 53 ′ 41 ″ N , 5 ° 33 ′ 53 ″ W.