Ben Youssef Medersa room, a photo from Marrakech, South

Photographer's Note

A couple of monthes ago I posted a photo of the courtyard of this medersa. This time I present you a student's room, which has a window to that courtyard.

The following text is a copy from the notes of that earlier post.

Medersa (aka medrassa) is a koranic (theological) school and this one functioned until 1960. It was the larger medersa in the Maghreb (all North Africa West of the Nile) and it's said that in occasions it housed more than 1000 students (some mention 1500, but the more common number mentioned is 900).

Ben Youssef Medersa was founded in the 14th century, but what is seen today is the result of the major reconstruction done in the 16th century. One of the most interesting and beautiful aspects of the building is the stucco work and carved cedar wood on some of the walls, namely on the courtyard, where every little piece of the wall is intricately decorated, in a style much influenced by the art of Islamic Andalucia (Southern Spain). I fact, many parts are nearly copies of some parts of the fabled Alhambra palaces, in Granada and it's believed that many architects and workers that built the place were Muslim Andalucians that fled from Spain or their descendants (Granada, the last Muslim possession in Spain, was conquered in the 15th century and most of the Muslim people that didn't fled to North Africa before or just after the conquest did it on the following years).

Other sources state that the style has more influences from the Merinide period (Merinides were a dynasty that ruled in actual Morocco from 13th to the 15th century), but as in that period the influence of the Andaluzian art workers was already very strong in Morocco, there is no real contradiction between the two claims.

Web links to more info: Igougo, Lexicorient, Wikipedia.

Location (latitude, longitude): 31.632,-7.9865

ribeiroantonio, leonorkuhn, adores, rakeshgupta, jmcl, jwmunro, sufi, cuneyt-sb, atus, sarahnatalie, xuaxo has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

ribeiroantonio (22730) 2007-03-01 20:03

Deve ser um lugar fantastico para se visitar. As decoraзхes sгo verdadeiramente bonitas mas francamente nгo sei se os estudantes alguma vez apreciaram o lado artнstico do sнtio aonde passaram muito tempo das suas vidas. Й sempre assim.
Quanto а foto, parece-me que a parte exterior estб um pouco sobre-exposta mas tambйm admito que conseguiste um equilibrio de luz muito bom para se ver bem todos os detalhes da imagem. Muito bem.
Antуnio

leonorkuhn (16237) 2007-03-01 20:46

Olб Josй,

Sem dъvida, um rico trabalho artesanal, muito bem captado em seus detalhes. Os estudantes tinham todo o conforto disponнvel para a йpoca. Muito bom equilibrio da luminosidade interna e externa.

Abraзos
Leonor

adores (46979) 2007-03-01 20:49

Olб Josй!
Uma perspectiva bem diferente desta Medersa magnнfica. Gosto da forma como captaste a outra janela do outro lado do patio, o Corгo e os outros objectos. Quase podemos imaginar um estudante aн sentado!Gosto da luz e acho a chaleira um уptimo detalhe!
Bom fim de semana!
Anabela

rakeshgupta (2672) 2007-03-01 23:05

Hi Jose,
Medarasa with ancient looking antiquitties seams to be a perfect learning room. Very airy and peacefull too. Good control of hightlight inside of window.
Thanks for sharing.
- Rakesh

jmcl (14535) 2007-03-02 0:29

Hi Jose,

wonderful and thoughtful place. .. you can feel the past .. and seem to look back into it with the way the framed windows seem to go on ...

wonderful image.

take care,

John

jwmunro (286) 2007-03-02 9:20

Hello Jose -

Well done! I am a little confused - am I looking across a courtyard into another room like this one? The perspective is a bit confusing. Otherwise, the lighting in the room and the exposure is just perfect. The side lighting in the courtyard makes the Moorish arches really glow. Just looking from the construction the rooms must be cool during the heat of the day and it also has an atmosphere of peace. Well done!

Thank you for sharing.

John

vincz (19113) 2007-03-02 17:12

Excellent light management for this beautiful composition. Exposure is spot on and we can so well study how the light is getting through here. Very well done.

paura (25802) 2007-03-02 18:23

Josй,
A composiзгo, singela, estб muito boa. Os elementos sгo simples mas de grande impacto.

Paulo

sufi (9588) 2007-03-03 4:22

Merhaba Jose, my friend...
It's a wonderul point of view and depth, indeed... The light, the details and the wooden colors are perfect.. Also perfect texture and details on the wooden furniture too...
TFS...
Stay well..
Salim.

feather (51130) 2007-03-03 6:27

Very tricky to expose for I bet. Very good work as we can see plenty of detail in the interior without the outside being over-exposed. I like the idea of all the successive arches we are looking through.
Kath

cuneyt-sb (6576) 2007-03-03 10:42

Hi Jose
Very good compozision and good detailed shot,
Nice POV and good colors
Selamlar, Take care

atus (15878) 2007-03-03 18:11

Hello Josи
well captured and nicely composed interesting shot of a good perspective. Very well managed light conditions, good sharpness and well visible details. Good work!
Tfs and have a nice Sunday!
Attila

UnTrained (0) 2007-03-04 5:41

Olб Josй,
I saw this yesterday the first time and since then thinking about it. I like it but this is too easy and doesn't really fit. I had discussion with myself about different crop or format (or both). My personal result says: fisheye! You got wonderful objects here, partly cropped, cutted, less place above, below and.. For me this one needs more space. That is what I miss here. All the other things are well. It is a very intertesting object, light management, colours, sharpness all well done.
And I like especially the way you captured the wooden parts with all those fine structures and lines.
Lieben Gruss, Ulf

sarahnatalie (697) 2007-03-06 17:58

My goodness, I was just thinking about what to say about this one and I read UnTrained's comments, and I have to say that they echo exactly what I was thinking. I really like the image, the idea is wonderful and a very nice TE contribution, the photo is technically strong, but the cropping seems a little off to me- especially at the bottom (perhaps a little too tight?) However, the photo is overall very nice!
Sarah

batalay (41261) 2007-11-29 20:14

Hello Josй,

This is a simple composition, but elegant and presenting an exotic site. You've handled the light well, and produced a high resolution images despite the constraints imposed by TE. The note is first class as usual.

Warm regards, Josй. Have a good weekend,

Bulent

Morac (27725) 2008-04-17 4:41

Bonjour Josй : je vois que toi aussi tu as photographiй et vistй ce superbe bвtiment.

Je viens de placer cette photo dans le thиme que je viens de concacrer а La Mйdersa Ben Youssef Je le complиterai avec d’autres photo de TE.
Amicalement
Marc

xuaxo (6854) 2008-05-12 12:59

Olб Josй
Uma composiзгo interessante. Gosto de ver o livro aberto, nas tambйm a parte com muita luz.
Um abraзo,
F

Photo Information

Copyright: Jose Pires (stego) (24132)
Genre: МЕСТА
Medium: ЦВЕТНОЙ
Date Taken: 2006-07-26
Categories: ЕЖЕДНЕВНОЕ, АРХИТЕКТУРА
Camera: Olympus E-300, 14-45 mm Zuiko Digital
Exposure: f/4.5, 1/60 секунд
Details: (Fill) Flash: Yes
More Photo Info: view
Map: view
Версия: Оригинальная версия
Путеводитель: Morocco 2006
Темы: World Heritage Sites Part VII, Mйdersa Ben Youssef de Marrakech [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-03-01 19:51