You can find Madrasa of Abu al-Hasan, one of the oldest religious schools in Africa, not far from the main mosque of Salé in Medina. This school was built in 1341. From that moment on, the Koran was taught here, and imams, professors, and lawyers were trained.

Even though this school is quite small in size, the luxury of Madrasa of Abu al-Hasan is admired. This is an incredibly beautiful building with wonderful interiors. Here you can find magnificent wood carvings, elegant bright mosaics on the floor and walls, and expensive tiles. All this to show how rich the rulers of the city were, how they were able to appreciate the beauty, and did not spare money for it.

The entrance to the Madrasa is decorated with an elegant stone portal with a doorway in the shape of a horseshoe. Passing through it, guests enter the lobby, which leads to the central courtyard. The courtyard itself is small, only 8 to 5 meters. But it is so beautifully decorated with columns, fountain, and mosaics that you can spend several hours looking at the patterns and each time finding new fragments.

You can go up to the second and third floors by fairly narrow spiral stairs. The entire second floor was occupied by the students of the Madrasa of Abu al-Hasan. It is striking how meager and ascetic their household was. Each tiny room has only a simple bed and a small table. They do not even have windows so that students are not distracted by what is happening outside the walls of the Madrasa, and diligently do their tasks. And students had to live here for a long time. The education lasted from 8 to 12 years, depending on which faculty was chosen. And all this time the students spent in the walls of the Madrasa, occasionally going out to the city.

There were more comfortable rooms on the third floor. They were intended for teachers and guests of the school. There were windows, comfortable furnishings, and even some luxury items.