Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque is a mosque in the Moroccan city of Fez, which is located specifically in the far north-east of Morocco. The mosque is the emblem of the city. Its construction began on the first of Ramadan 245 AH with the study of the Idrisi monarch Yahya I, and Umm al-Banin Fatima al-
Fihri who volunteered to build it. Transformed from a small mosque into a large university in the Islamic West, the University of Al-Qarawiyyin is considered the oldest university in the world, providing a distinguished education to many people. In the twelfth century, a whole series of names among the greatest would be associated in one way or another with Al- Qarawiyyin: the great precursors of Sufism, such as Ibn Hrizim, Abou Madyane, Abdeslam Ben Mchich Alami, the philosophers Avenpace and Averroes, the geographer Al Idrissi but also Maimonides, Ibn Khaldoun and Leon the African to name but a few. Various rulers of the city took great interest in Al-Qarawiyyin which helped elevate Fez to a scientific and cultural center that was able to compete with the most eminent and recognized scientific centers such as the city of Cordoba or the city of Baghdad.
The university is also distinguished by its green domes, its antique wooden mihrab, and its circular fountain in the middle of its courtyard. Its roof is divided between a covered part and an open-air part. The university still preserves a pulpit dating back to the Almoravid era and a large chandelier from the Almohad era, in addition to many decorations that adorn the mosque, which testify to the succession of many Islamic civilizations.
