Can you visit the Ben Youssef Mosque in Marrakech?

The Ben Youssef Mosque stands in the north of the Marrakech medina and gives its name to the whole neighbourhood. It is named after the Almoravid ruler Ali ibn Yusuf, who built a great congregational mosque here in the early 12th century, at a time when it was the main mosque of the young city. Almost nothing of that first building survives. After centuries of decline it was rebuilt several times, and the mosque you see today dates from a reconstruction completed in 1819–20.

It is still an active place of worship, and like almost all mosques in Morocco it is not open to non-Muslim visitors. From the lanes outside you can see its minaret, but there is no visit inside. If you are travelling with a guide, ask them to point out how the mosque, the madrasa and the qubba fit together, because the three are easy to confuse on a map.

The building most people are actually looking for is the Ben Youssef Madrasa, the theological college that the Saadian sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib built just east of the mosque in 1563–64, giving the mosque new life as the mosque of scholars. The madrasa is open to visitors as a historic site and is one of the best-known interiors in Marrakech; our separate guide to it covers what you will see inside. Check locally for its opening hours before you go.

A few steps to the south is the Almoravid Qubba, a small domed pavilion from the early 12th century that was buried under several metres of later debris until it was excavated in the 20th century. It is one of the very few Almoravid buildings left in Marrakech, and the carved decoration inside its dome is worth the short visit. The street fountain known as Shrob ou Shouf, built under the Saadians, is also nearby.

Plan this corner of the medina as one stop: walk up from Jemaa el-Fnaa through the souks, see the madrasa and the qubba, and look at the mosque from outside. Dress modestly, and keep your voice down near the mosque at prayer times.

If you are short of time, this corner of the medina rewards an early start, before the lanes fill and the tour groups arrive.