Medersa Abu al-Hassan — Rabat

The Medersa Abu al-Hassan is a jewel-box Merinid Qur'anic school, built between 1333 and 1341 by the sultan Abu al-Hassan Ali as part of the religious complex around the Great Mosque of Salé. The courtyard is small, clad waist-high in zellige and above that in deeply carved cedar and stucco; student cells on two floors look inward. A narrow rooftop terrace gives one of the best views of Salé, the Bou Regreg estuary, and Rabat's Kasbah across the water.