When faced with something too magnificent for words, Moroccans say allahuakbar, meaning God is great – and allahuakbar describes the Ali ben Youssef Medersa. Look up in the entry hall, and feel suddenly small under intricately carved cedar cupolas and mashrabiyya (wooden-lattice screen) balconies. Enter the medersa’s (theological college) courtyard, and you’re surrounded by Hispano-Moresque wonders of five-colour, high-lustre zellij (mosaic) and ingenious Iraqi-style Kufic stucco, with letters intertwined in leaves and knots.