Madrasa of Chella

Without a doubt, the madrasa, with its raised polychrome mosaic minaret is the most important monument of the dynastic necropolis. The building, which can be accessed in two ways, is located to the north east of the necropolis, and includes a prayer hall, an open-aired courtyard and several student cells.

The quadrangular courtyard is bordered by galleries resting on white marble columns and pillars, of which only the bottom remains. Cells are arranged around the side wings, and a large room, probably a classroom or a meeting room, is located opposite the oratory, lending balance to the building’s layout. Two staircases, the traces of which are still visible, lead to the upper floor, served by a balustraded gallery, similar to that of the madrasas of al-Sabiyyîn (1321-23) and al-Misbahiya (1344-46) in Fez. The gallery presumably housed further cells.

The oratory, which is wider than it is long, features three naves, which are perpendicular to the qibla wall, and are subdivided by pillars of baked bricks supporting horseshoe arches. The axial nave, which is wider and higher, leads to the mihrâb surrounded by a narrow ambulatory, which was long considered a place of pilgrimage for the poor. The sculpted plaster decoration, which unfortunately has been damaged, reveals the vestiges of an ornamentation that covered the cornerstones and presumably extended to the frieze of the mihrâb. A three-braided plait once framed a floral combination of smooth palmettes forming an architectural interlace, the mesh of which is stamped with pairs of two-lobed digitate palmettes.

A quadrangular minaret, topped with a lantern, stands at the north-west corner of the madrasa. An opening in the centre of the facade gives onto a narrow staircase, with tis flights and landings respectively covered with barrel vaults and groined vaults. The ornamentation on the façades appears to be identical at first sight. Two poly-lobed arches rest on imbedded octagonal colonettes, forming two twin niches on each side. From these niches come two types of intertwined rhombuses, which alternate on the four sides. The north and south sides are decorated with black stars set off against green ribbons. On those of the east and west sides, a more complex arrangement stands out. Drawn by ribbons raised on stone, the panels of the intertwined motifs envelop a repetitive mosaic decor, composed of smooth bi-lobed palmettes, the large lobes of which stretch vertically and form a fleuron, from where a bud sprouts. The set stands out on account of the tiled marquetry in Almohad combinations, and on account of a liveliness that it was to become noted for, and which ensured its almost continual presence in post-Medieval Morrocan architecture. 

The lantern, in spite of its disproportionate form, features a rich decoration spread out over three levels. On the lower level, a mosaic panel of black strips is punctuated by eight-pointed stars. The second layer is on the middle part and consists of white, plaited strips that stretch from one side of the niche to the other, enclosing more eight-pointed stars that are black and very dark violet. The final layer runs above this, and features an interpretation of an eight-pointed star forming rosettes that are identical to those already depicted on the plaster.