Built for the Great Mosque
Sultan Abu al-Hasan founded several madrasas and religious buildings during his reign. In Salé, he built this one beside the Great Mosque to support it as the centre of the city’s religious and intellectual life.
Rooms for students
Students lived on the two upper floors, in small rooms reached by a staircase from the entrance vestibule. Unlike those of many other madrasas, these rooms do not look onto the courtyard.
The prayer hall
At the far end of the courtyard is a rectangular prayer hall. Its mihrab, the niche that shows the direction of prayer, is framed by carved plaster and windows.



