University of al-Qarawiyyin
جامع القرويين
Founded in 859 and recognized by Guinness as the world’s oldest existing university still in operation, it is also one of North Africa’s most important mosques.
Al-Qarawiyyin was founded in 859 CE by Fatima al-Fihri, the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Kairouan in Tunisia. It began as a mosque with a school attached, and successive dynasties expanded it until it could hold some 20,000 worshippers. UNESCO and Guinness World Records recognize it as the oldest existing institution of higher education that still holds classes. In the Middle Ages it drew scholars from afar, and its library holds precious texts, including a 9th-century Qur’an manuscript. The library was restored in 2016 and partly reopened. Non-Muslims may not enter the mosque interior, but you can look in from several gateways to see the white marble courtyard, the fountains, and the fine woodwork and tilework. When open, the rooftop of the nearby Attarine Madrasa offers views over the mosque’s green tiled roofs. The mosque sits in the heart of the old city, surrounded by the copper square and spice markets, and is usually visited together with the Attarine Madrasa and the Chouara Tannery.
Opening hours
Exterior open all day; interior restricted to Muslims
Nearby sights
- Place Seffarine
- Al-Attarine Madrasa
- Zawiya of Moulay Idris II
- Fes el-Bali Medina
- Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts
- Chouara Tannery
- Sahrij Madrasa
- Mosque of the Andalusians