Jemaa al-Fnaa | Marrakech Riad

Djemma el Fnaa, unesco world heritage site

The main square or Jema el Fnaa has been the beating heart of Marrakech since the Red City was founded a thousand years ago. Fnaa has two meanings in arabic, it can mean death, or it can mean courtyard. Opinion is divided as to whether the square takes its name from the gruesome public display […]

Food Stalls of Jemma al Fnaa

Your Marrakech visit won’t be complete without eating out in the central square of Jemaa El Fnaa at least once.

Gnawa musicians in the Jemma el Fnaa

Gnaws are a group of musicians that descend from the dark-skinned slaves brotherhood from Ghana, Guinea and Mali several centuries ago. The Gnawa can be seen in Marrakesh and Essouira. Every year especially in May the town of Essaouira hosts a festival of Gnawa and world music. Here is a video about Gnawa in the […]

The Book Trade of Marrakech – Market of Booksellers

Perhaps not what people first consider when thinking of Morocco, is the rich history of book trade and literature in this most curious country. We are walking through an age where tablets and smartphones dictate much of our lives. Designed to make all of our needs accessible in one portable device, our phones make it […]

Marrakech Taxi…

If you’ve done your research on Marrakech before visiting, you might have come across some off putting exerts from people who have had a negative experience when trying to make a taxi journey. In this article, we will offer advice on how to make your taxi journey easy & your interaction with the drivers more […]

Water sellers in Marrakech.

Water sellers in Marrakech. In local dialect these men are called Gharrib. They carry a goat skin tar lined bag, this bag holds water. Historically these were important traders in the Desert environment, but now they cater mainly for entertainment. Moroccans consider it to be lucky ( Barakka) to drink the water they sell, so […]

Shoe Shine

Ba Ibrahim 66years old is a proud of his profession and and as he said that from those little money that the guests left for him; he supports his family of 7 persons. He has been performing his career more than 20 years, and he considered himself as a legend, due to the omniscient that he got […]

Spice tea

The spice tea store, one of the master piece that decorate the square activities in the west side, these stores present one of the traditional kind of tea that is known but it’s chilly and it’s hot. They being busy much during the cold weather, because of the specific treatment that the element of that […]

The Market Mosque

The mosques are usually a restrictive place to perform and learn the worship through the QUORAN (house rituals) that should be led in a good way by the Imam and the Moazine. It is rule seems providing the regular opportunities to acquire knowledge that organize the social affairs chiefly the thing concern about the financial […]

Jemaa el-Fnaa – storytellers of the square

The tradition of storytelling is a Moroccan practice which has been taking place in the central square of Marrakech for many hundreds of years. Much like snake charming, acrobatics and copper working, good storytelling is a revered art which demands natural talent as well as many years of practice. Across the corners of Morocco, storytelling or […]

Jemaa el-Fnaa – the Medina Mosque

Overshadowing the central square of Marrakech is the stunning sight of the Medina, or Argana Mosque. Hugging the North-Western reaches of the Jemaa el-Fnaa aside of Souk Jdid, the Argana Mosque has no Qur’anic school and exists solely as a space of prayer, acting as a key religious location for local Marrakshi, especially during the […]

Jemaa el-Fnaa – Boxing

For many hundreds of years, the Jemaa el-Fnaa square of Marrakech has played host to a wide range of markets, a plethora of unimaginable spectacles and all forms of entertainment imaginable. Indeed, in the red city today, very little has changed. A short stroll through Marrakech’s central square could involve an encounter with anything from a Berber […]

Jemaa el-Fnaa – Ba Mahjoub the bird trainer

At the very centre of Marrakech is Jemaa el-Fnaa. For hundreds of years this central square has acted as the beating heart and mouthpiece of the red city, and is home to markets, food stalls and street performers of a huge variety. One individual you might expect to encounter in the square is Ba Mahjoub […]

Jemaa el-Fnaa – Rue Moulay Rachid

Rue Moulay Rachid or L’Prince as local Marrakshi call it, stretches from the reaches of the hotel Grand Tazi to the Café Grand Terrace. You will discover L’Prince to be a thriving area of the red city, where the huge of variety of shops, restaurants and café’s keep the district humming with activity all through the […]

Jemaa el-Fnaa – Chasing lemonade

In the hustle and bustle of Marrakech’s central square, you can find everything from snake charmers to magicians. That’s not to say that Jemaa el-Fnaa is a space strictly for the weird and the wonderful, one public game that you will find being played day or night by tourists and locals alike is ‘chasing lemonade’. […]

Marrakech street food – moul seikok

A short stroll through the winding labyrinthine streets of the red city of Marrakech will lead you to encounter a huge variety of traditional street foods being sold. One such dish is moul seikok, a fusion of steamed semolina seeds and milk. If you are strolling through one of Marrakech’s many souks, you may hear […]

Jemaa el-Fnaa – holistic remedies of the desert

If you take a short stroll through the central square of Marrakech (known as Jemaa el-Fnaa) you will encounter all kinds of spices, herbs and medicinal products, many of which are made from the unique commodity of the Argan nut. Located in the Eastern corner of the square however, is an area dedicated to showcasing […]

Jemaa el-Fnaa – Fruit sellers

Where the growth of dates and the celebrated Argan nut thrive in Morocco’s arid climate, it’s only possible for tropical fruits such as coconut and pineapple to grow in the more humid parts of the country. That’s not to say that they won’t be seen in the humming central square of Marrakech, where everything from snail […]

Boxing

Among the huge variety of activity in the Jemma al Fnaa square there are sometimes amateur boxers competing in front of a hugely enthusiastic crowd. There is always something new to discover in the Red City

The Last Storyteller

The Marrakech tradition of story telling is as old as the Red City itself, one of great joys of the Jemaa al Fnaa square is the crowds that gather around storytellers who are often telling tales little altered since the middle ages. Englishman Richard Hamilton has written an outstanding book entitled the last storyteller. […]

ATM Jemaa El Fna

On the south side of the main square there is a concentration of banks most of which have ATM machines. One of the best known is the French owned Societe Generale on the main Bab Agnou shopping street. Alternatively walk in the direction of the Koutoubia mosque to the adjacent Rue Moulay Ismail

Boutique Rock the Casbah

Among the traders in central medina district near the Sidi Abdelaziz shrine you will find English expat Jo from Essex and her wonderful boutique Rock the Casbah. Bags scarves bracelets postcards and a variety of distinctive souvenirs. Look out for the donkey! This shop is now a lovely Malian Jewellery outlet.( Feb 2107)

La Salama

Panoramic restaurant located just off the main Jema al Fnaa square, one of the classic Marrakech ‘dinner and show’ venues. Moroccan owned with a upscale traditional Moroccan menu, great atmosphere enlivened by a pianist and belly dancers.

Sweet Seller

Several small vehicles lined up along the corners of the square each evening, they present a myriad of forms of traditional cakes and Moroccan sweets both home-made and the product of specialist bakeries. Many of these cakes are holidays specialities and all are best accompanied by tea. They contain sugars, spices, honey, chocolate, Sugar, Fruit […]

Plant Sellers

Pepiniere Jemaa al Fna It stands in the northwest of the square, and it include several shops that propose a choice of different kind of plants and flowers, most of the shops owned by farmers that come from the the countrysides of Marrakech, Their plants can be locally farmed like the Casania, Girofle, pennisetum, small palms, […]

Hamza the street performer: Charlie Chaplin in Marrakech

If you stroll through the winding streets nearby Rue Riad Zitoun el Kdim, you may be lucky enough to spot Hamza. Hamza is a street cleaner by his daily trade, however he also has a burning passion for the dance moves inspired by Charlie Chaplin! He’s somewhat of a celebrity among the locals in this sleepy […]

Jemaa al-Fnaa: Mint Sellers of the Medina

Scattered throughout the Medina you will see the many mint salesmen going about their daily trade. Mint is an absolutely key staple in Moroccan society, used in marinades for a variety of dishes and of course in the traditional mint tea. And the central hub of the red city is of course no exception to […]