Magnificent Geometric Decoration: The Bou Inania Madrasa Clock in Fez, Morocco

This magnificent architectural masterpiece is one of the greatest geometric decorations in the world. Imagine the high level of expertise in calculation and mathematics that the designer of this masterpiece possessed to master its craft in the 14th century.

The masterpiece is located in the Bou Inania Madrasa (Marinid) in the city of Fez, Morocco. The madrasa was built over a period of six years between 1351 and 1357. The Bou Inania Madrasa contains a water-powered mechanical clock, which operates on a mechanism similar to the one in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, but is much larger in size. Like the Damascus clock, it alerts the time with the sound of metal balls striking.

This clock was made by the clockmaker Abu Al-Hasan Ali Ahmed Al-Tlemsani, who completed it in 1357, and was placed by the Marinid Sultan Abu Inan Faris in a special room in the Dar Al-Magana, adjacent to the Bou Inania Madrasa building, and connected to it by a bridge over the road below.

The Bou Inania Madrasa clock is one of the last functioning Arab water clocks that still operates to this day, and underwent a comprehensive restoration in 2004 under the supervision of the Agency for the Development and Restoration of Fez.