Bou Inania Madrasa

|alt=|left Founder and patron: Sultan Abu Inan The name Bou Inania ('') is derived from the name of its founder, the Marinid sultan Faris ibn Ali Abu Inan al-Mutawakkil (generally Abou Inan or Abu Inan for short). It was originally named the Madrasa al-Muttawakkiliya but the name Madrasa Bu Inania'' has been retained instead. He was the son and successor of Sultan Abu al-Hasan, under whose reign the Marinid empire reached its apogee and expanded all the way to Tunis in the east. The inscription also notes an extensive list of mortmain-type endowments (i.e. properties and other sources of revenue) which were dedicated to funding the madrasa's operations and which were part of its habous or waqf (an Islamic charitable trust). The madrasa building has undergone numerous restorations, particularly in the 17th century after a damaging earthquake. During the reign of Sultan Mulay Sliman (1792-1822), entire wall sections were reconstructed. In the 20th century restorations were carried out on the madrasa's decorations. == Architecture ==

The madrasa is actually a complex of buildings that together provide the facilities required to serve as a madrasa and mosque. The main building has the outline of an irregular rectangle measuring 34.65 by 38.95 metres. Right next to this is the Dar al-Magana or "House of the Clock", which features a famous but currently non-functional hydraulic clock on its facade. Entrances The madrasa has two entrances: one on Tala'a Kebira street aligned with the mihrab and the central axis of the building, and another on Tala'a Seghira at the back. The Tala'a Kebira entrance has a horseshoe arch doorway surrounded by stucco decoration. A set of stairs leads into a vestibule and then directly into the main courtyard. The vestibule is covered in the same rich ornamentation as the rest of the madrasa and has a ceiling of cedar wood carved in elaborate muqarnas. The canal likely also served an aesthetic and possibly symbolic purpose, in addition to further assisting in ablutions. and the madrasa of Chellah, runs above this along most of the courtyard. The middle and upper walls above this are covered in finely carved stucco with a harmonious variety of motifs including arabesques, muqarnas (especially around the windows and in the archways leading to the side chambers), Arabic calligraphic inscriptions (particularly at the middle of pillars and around the eastern and western doorways), and more geometric patterns. The spaces between the pillars of the gallery and below the windows are highlighted with carved cedar wood elements, while the walls above the stucco decoration also transition to surfaces of cedar wood carved with more arabesque motifs and Arabic inscriptions. Lastly, the top of the walls is overshadows by a wooden canopy supported by corbels. Both the prayer hall and the lateral study rooms off the main courtyard feature more stucco decoration along their upper walls, as well as windows with coloured glass set into stucco grilles. The mihrab of the prayer hall is itself also richly decorated with carved stucco, as is common to other Moroccan mosques. The cedar wood doors to the lateral chambers on the northeast and southwest sides of the courtyard are also finely carved, featuring bands of Arabic calligraphy and mostly covered with an with interlacing geometric star pattern with arabesque fillings. File:Abu 'Inaniya.jpg|Zellij tilework featuring geometric motifs (below), with sgraffito-type tiles (middle) and stucco decoration (above) featuring Arabic calligraphy File:Fez (6112172867).jpg|Stucco carving, including muqarnas, along the walls and arches of the courtyard File:Madrasa Bou Inania detail (3044837557).jpg|Carved geometric and arabesque details in the cedar wood doors of the lateral chambers off the courtyard File:Bou Inania Madrasa, Fez, Marocco (المدرسة البوعنانية, ⴰⵙⵉⵏⴰⵏ ⴱⵓ ⵉⵏⴰⵏⵉⵢⴰ).jpg|Muqarnas sculpting in the intrados of the archway at the entrance of the lateral chambers File:Medersa Bou Inania (religious school) (2480668634).jpg|Coloured glass windows above in the prayer hall, with stucco grilles and surrounding stucco decoration == Adjacent structures ==

The ablutions house (Dar al-Wudu) house), directly opposite the main entrance of the madrasa on Tala'a Kebira street Opposite the main doorway of the madrasa is the entrance to the dar al-wuḍūʾ ("house of ablutions") for washing limbs and face before prayers. Like the rest of the madrasa, it was built by Sultan Abu Inan and served both the madrasa and the wider public. The facade of the building has 13 consoles (corbels) intricately carved in cedar wood, with panels of wood-carved arabesques and stylized Kufic decoration between them. Above these are twelve windows surrounded by stucco-carved decoration, above which in turn are two rows of projecting wooden corbels. The uppermost row of consoles is longer than the ones below and presumably supported a parapet or canopy that has since disappeared. == The minbar ==

The original minbar of the madrasa's mosque is today housed at the Dar Batha Museum (located near Bab Bou Jeloud), with a later replacement now present in the mosque itself. That minbar established a prestigious artistic tradition, originating from earlier Umayyad Al-Andalus, that was imitated and emulated in subsequent periods, though later minbars varied in their exact form and in the choice of the decorative methods. Like the Kutubiyya minbar, the Bou Inania Minbar is made of wood, including ebony and other expensive woods, and is decorated with a mix of marquetry and carved pieces assembled together. The main decorative pattern along its major surfaces on either side is centered around eight-pointed stars, from which bands decorated with ivory inlay then interweave and repeat the same pattern across the rest of the surface. The spaces between these bands form other geometric shapes which are filled with wood panels of intricately carved arabesques. This motif is similar to that found on the Kutubiyya minbar and even more so to that of the slightly later Almohad minbar of the Kasbah Mosque in Marrakesh (commissioned between 1189 and 1195), which followed in the same tradition. The arch above the first step of the minbar contains an inscription, now partly disappeared, which refers to Abu Inan and his titles. ==See also==