Jemaa El Fna
Salaam Walechem.
Walking through the main square of Marrakech, Jemaa El Fna, I am blasted with color, sound, and a beehive of activity. There are snake charmers coaxing up cobras with flutes and drums yelling and singing, attracting a crowd. People gather round to see whats going on.
There is a crazed looking man in the center yelling and dancing around with a knife in his hand and a pile of snakes in the ground in front of him. A few cobras have their hoods up and behind them are about 4 or 5 other men banging drums or playing something that look like flutes.
There are stands of fresh orange juice vendors lined up one way, for 3 dirhams ( about 35 cents) you get a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. Next to them are fruit and nut stands, with piles of fresh fruits and nuts. Walnuts and some other nuts I’ve never seen, apricots, dates, and figs are all piled up. You get a huge mixed bag for about 4 dollars.
So this is a huge square bustling with activity and opening up into a huge market selling rugs, shoes, clothing, spices, and all sorts of other things. As you walk by people try to talk to you ‘Bonjour mon amie’ Hello my friend. Please come inside, what do you like? There are alot of people that just try talk to you to get you to buy stuff, or to lead you to their store or their friends store. I got taken into a tannery where they had pits dug into the ground filled with skins and different mixes to soften or color the skins. One second your walking down the street and the next second your walking over a mangy dog on a the communal lot of tannery families.
Tags: Marrakech, Morocco, Travel, Tag Index
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