Al-Qarawiyyin: The Oldest University in the World

Al-Qarawiyyin, according to the Guinness Book of Records, is the oldest of the currently operating universities in the world. Fatima al-Fihri is considered its founder - she opened a mosque and madrasah in the Moroccan city of Fez in 859. For centuries, the education process had stuck to the old tradition, students work with individual mentors. It was only in 1963 that Al-Qarawiyyin became part of the modern public education system.