Zawiya Shala,Rabat, Marocco

The Zawiya of Shāla has a regular plan, with a central rectangular court surrounded by columns. In the center of the courtyard there is a basin for collecting water with the characteristic filtering element located at both ends. Around the central courtyard, on the two long sides, there are the small cells that housed students. The northwest side of the court is closed by a small room and by the minaret, while the southeast side is completed by a small prayer room, musalla, divided into three spaces by two arches. The prayer hall, positioned like the nearby mosque, has a small mihrab, perfectly aligned with the central basin. The Zawiya of Shāla is an elegant and sophisticated architecture that even now shows the architectural splendor of the Merenides despite the collapses and the complete absence of roof covering. In fact, the rooms still retain traces of the geometric designs of the period.