Marrakech Night Market
As an introduction to a city after arriving on a Friday evening, it’s hard to imagine anything more spectacular than Djemaa El Fna. Marrakech’s main square provides an unparalleled assault on the senses. From the edge of the square, it looks like it is on fire. Smoke billows up from the hundreds of food stalls, the barbecues overpowering the white canvas roofs.
The night market at Djemaa El FnaPart of the fun is deciding where to eat, and touts for each stall are rather keen to sway your decision. They come armed with anecdotes for every nation, a desire to talk about football teams and a bizarre array of British supermarket advertising slogans.
“Safer than Heston Blumenthal, better than Gordon Ramsay, tastier than Nigella Lawson,” says one.
“Taste the difference – like Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference – for ASDA price,” tries another.
Take it in the right spirit, indulge in a bit of the banter, and it’s hilarious. You become part of the great Djemaa El Fna show. Supplementing the barbecues and benches are stalls selling snails, piled-high spices and freshly squeezed orange juice for an absolute pittance. It’s a gastronomic experience to be cherished. But Djemaa El Fna isn’t all about the eating – this is one of the world’s greatest entertainment centres too.
Eating at the night marketStorytellers and musicians
In the evening, huddles of people can be found dotted across the square. Some are playing sideshow style games where they try and put a hoop over a bottle of Coke, others are listening to storytellers and many are taking in musicians and dancers.
The pounded drumbeats are a constant soundtrack, but join the huddle and an elaborate game unfolds. Half of the fun is waiting for the musicians to play. They build up the excitement, talking to the audience and conversing with each other. The audience slowly grows in expectation, and coins are handed over to whoever is playing ringmaster at that moment.
And when enough money is handed over, then motley band launches into it, jigging around the temporary pen with instruments in hand. This is what has happened here for years, and it beats TV in the hotel room any day. But the important thing is that it’s not just for tourists – the locals find the charade just as fascinating.
Shopping in Marrakech’s souks
The biggest game of all awaits the next morning. Marrakech is one of the world’s great shopping cities, and while international designer stores can be found in the Europeanised New City, the souks of the Medina are what really mesmerise.
Shopping for shoes in the Marrakech souksMarrakech’s souks have been called a warren, a maze and a labyrinth before. None of those descriptions really comes close, however. They come with a cast iron guarantee of getting lost at least twice, but this is also where the charm lies.
The stalls sprawl out in all directions, diverting along laneways, into small courtyards, up and down stairs and underneath basic wooden shelters. Each is a riot of colour, and each comes with a determined little man who wants to sell you his traditional slippers/ lanterns/ leather bags/ ceramic pots.
In truth, a trip through the souks is far less mentally exhausting than it once was. Police have cracked down on the hordes who would harass you into accepting them as a guide, and joining in with the stallholders is tremendous fun. Approach the whole experience with a smile, a sense of humour and a willingness to play along, and it’s wonderful.
The theatrical pleading of poverty, the ‘special price for you this morning’, the ebb and flow of the bartering process and the ritual drinking of sweet tea have an element of pantomime. But for those prepared to run with it rather than yearn for fixed prices, it’s the quintessential Marrakech experience.
Jardin Majorelle and the New City
Marrakech’s heart is the Medina. The old city, surrounded by the red earth city walls is a hive of mosques, palaces, Kasbahs and riads (small courtyard hotels). But it could never be described as relaxing. And for respite, it’s better to walk out of the city walls to explore the more modern side of Marrakech. The New City is almost completely different – glass fronted shops, French restaurants and cool cocktail bars rub shoulders.
Most of the upmarket chain hotels and resorts are outside the Medina, and so are the gardens. For such a dry, dusty city, Marrakech has an astonishing selection of carefully maintained gardens. Each has its own character – some play on the mountain views, others on the olive groves, others on the presentation of the plants.
The latter is certainly the case at the Jardin Majorelle. It’s a gorgeous oasis surrounded by snarling main roads, where the tall bamboo and cactus fields are complimented by a bright colour scheme. Pots and walls are painted in vivid blues, oranges and yellows and if a certain amount of design flare is apparent, it’s because the garden was owned by Yves Saint Laurent.
The French fashion guru had his ashes scattered there when he died in 2008, and a small memorial to him can be found on along one of the pathways.
Caleche rides and snake charmers
From the Jardin Majorelle, the most endearing way to get back to the Medina is to hop on a caleche. These horse-drawn carriages are fairly ubiquitous, and the horses must have nerves of steel to trot along the main roads through the swerving ranks of motorcyclists and hair-raising taxis. A major caleche stop can be found just outside the Jardin Majorelle, and the drivers are only too happy to take you back to Djemaa El Fna.
Once there, the afternoon scene is rather different to what will follow later on. A few musicians are still there, but in the afternoon, Djemaa El Fna is largely the domain of fortune tellers, snake charmers and what can only be described as a Moroccan take on clowns.
The show may have a new set of performers, but it still rumbles on almost continuously. Just before the sun comes down, the stalls go up and the smoke billows out again. A million meals, songs and stories await.
