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This was built as a lodging-house for students of the Karaouyine by the Merinide sultan Abou Inan in 1355. Generally considered to be the finest of all Moroccan medersas, this beautifully restored example of Islamic architecture at its best should not be missed. You go through a small entrance-hall, with its own splended stalactitic (muqarnas) dome, into the glory of the building, which is the court. The walls are quite breathtaking; it seems that not a centimetre has been left undecorated, and yet because the colours are so muted and the proportions so near perfect the overall effect is not confusing. The whole is framed from above by a layer of finely carved cedarwood, while below is a terrace of delicate stucco. Stuccowork like fine threads of lace outlines the simple openings of the tiny, cell-like students' rooms. These were still in use by students until 1956, but are now seriously decayed. (It is worth climbing one of the flights of stairs, which ascend from the entrance hall to the terrace, for an exceptional view of the court and nearby buildings.) Below the stucco on three sides of the court is a horizontal band of black Kufic script painted on wood. The columns beneath it are covered with minutely worked zelliges, which form the only point of colour, other than browns and creams, in the whole complex structure. Between the columns are elegant wooden grilles, and behind these are the rooms which would have served as lecture halls.