Cherratine Madrasa

**Cherratine Madrasa** (Arabic: مدرسة الشراطين, romanized: *Madrasat esh-Sherātīn*, lit. 'school of de rope makers') be Islamic school anaa madrasa wey dem build insyd 1670 by de Alawi sultan Moulay al-Rashid. E dey locate insyd de city of Fez insyd Morocco. Dem sanso dey bell de madrasa **Er-Rachidia Madrasa** anaa **Ras al-Cherratine Madrasa**.

## History

Na construction of de madrasa begin for 17 December 1670 CE (1 Sha'ban 1081 AH) under de reign of de Alawi sultan Moulay al-Rashid.Na de newly madrasa dem build replace an older one, dem know as de Madrasa el-Lebbadin anaa Madrasa el-Ebridin, of unclear origin, wich according to traditional sources na dem demolish am secof na raucous students desecrate am.Dis reconstruction for de site of a former madrasa fi explain why dem fi build de current madrasa for a regular rectangular floor plan despite edey locate for de heart of de already densely-built old city. De name Cherratine (*esh-Sherātīn*), dey mean "rope-makers", refer to de presence of a nearby market wer na dem establish rope-makers.

Like oda madrasas insyd de city, na dem use am take host students den teachers from outsyd de city wey cam make dem study anaa work for de nearby University of al-Qarawiyyin. By de 19th century anaa early 20th century de madrasa, de largest of de madrasas insyd ein neighbourhood, na ebe mostly dedicated to housing students from Algeria, de Rif region, de Tafilalt, den oda eastern regions.

Na dem classify de madrasa as historic heritage monument insyd Morocco since 1917.

## Architecture

Dem build de building insyd brick den cedar wood. Dem dey enter de madrasa via a decorated doorway, from wich a corridor dey lead to a main central courtyard, roughly square for plan insyd. For de center of de courtyard be a fountain plus a marble bowl. De courtyard be surrounded for four sides by a gallery anaa portico wey dey consist of one large bay dem flank by two small ones. For three of dese sides, de space above be marked by three windows wich dem frame by large blind arches (de central arch san be larger den taller dan de oda two). For de southeast side, however, de portico dey consist of three horeshoe arches wich dey lead directly to a rectangular prayer hall, wider dan ebe deep, plus a central *mihrab* (wall niche wey dey symbolize de direction of prayer) dem decorate plus carved stucco. De madrasa be notable for ein large size buh dem sparsely decorate de building for comparison plus older Marinid madrasas insyd de city (e.g. de nearby Al-Attarine Madrasa anaa de larger Bou Inania Madrasa to de west). Nonetheless, dem carve de wooden lintels den de stucco corbels of de galleries insyd de courtyard plus arabesque motifs, as be de upper zones of de courtyard walls (above de blind arches) wich dem cover plus wood den stucco.

Around de courtyard, for de two upper floors, be a large array of small student dorm rooms wich fi house between 130 den 150 students for ein time insyd. Dis area dey include chaw small inner courtyards plus multi-story galleries from wich dem access sam of student rooms wey e sanso feature sam restrained stucco den wooden decoration. Dis arrangement be unlike de layout of older Marinid madrasas insyd Fez buh ebe similar, however, to de arrangement dem see insyd de Saadian-built 16th-century Ben Youssef Madrasa insyd Marrakesh.
File:Cherratine_DSCF5998.jpg|Entrance to de madrasa
File:Cherratine_DSCF6208.jpg|Main courtyard
File:Fes_DSC03531_Morocco_(15093221387).jpg|Details of carved decoration insyd de main courtyard
File:Cherratine_DSCF6028.jpg|Main courtyard, wey dey look southeast towards de mihrab of de prayer hall
File:Cherratine_DSCF6052.jpg|Mihrab of de prayer hall
File:Cherratine_DSCF6083.jpg|One of de smaller secondary courtyards wey dey serve de student dormitories
File:Cherratine_DSCF6192.jpg|One of de smaller secondary courtyards wey dey serve de student dormitories


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