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The Jamaa lefna Square
The Djemâa el Fna square is an inescapable place in Marrakesh. A real central route of the Marrakesh Medina, it enables to take in the proliferation of life and activities that characterise the imperial town. The charm of the Djemâa el Fna square comes from the multitude of street-artists, stalls of dried fruit or orange juice freshly-pressed before you, and the multitude of small restaurants that take over its centre from early evening, and contribute to the scent of its surroundings.
In the morning, you can taste excellent pancakes at the Toubkal café, at midday, you can take in the sun on the terrace of the Café de France and in the evening, you can take advantage of the dozens of musical and artistic shows there. At nightfall, a colourful crowd converges towards Djemâa el Fna in order to benefit from the coolness of the evening while watching family shows.
Located in the heart of the Medina, the Djemâa el Fna square is the geographical, cultural and social centre of Marrakesh. It is overlooked by the Koutoubia minaret nearby, and gives access to the souk streets; it is an essential crossing-point for heading towards several riads and luxurious restaurants hidden in the heart of an alley in Marrakech. One of the attractions of the Djemâa el Fna square is that its activities are not exclusively destined for the tourists.
Herbalists, tooth-pullers, public authors or marabouts offer their services to a varied Moroccan clientele. The Berber sellers, peasants coming into town to sell their harvests, the rich casaouis, strolling tourists and of course the Marrakesh inhabitants fall under the spell of the entertainment and trade of the Djemâa el Fna square. Some regret the long-gone time when the square was not paved and the sales less regulated.
Indeed, the square has just been newly paved and the cart-stalls of its wandering merchants are gleaming but standardised.
Of no great architectural interest, the charm of the Djemâa El Fna square comes from this traditional popular entertainment. Seen from one of the terraces overlooking the square, the proliferation of fuel lamps lighting up the stalls and restaurants is reminiscent of a swarm of fireflies in the heart of the town. The peddlers harangue the passers-by and the tourists in order to sell them a henna tattoo or a miracle cure. The small open-air restaurants are attractive in their colourful and tasty dishes eaten around a sparse table. Famous and admired throughout the world, the Djemâa el Fna square is surprising in its variety of shows seen there these days, and also by some of its cultural asides. The triangular esplanade is thus a centre of innumerable acrobatic, juggling, and snake-charming shows, Berber musicians and other performers. In some small restaurants, the sheep heads, indelicately visible to all, subliminally remind visitors of the first purpose of the Djemâa el Fna square. Indeed, its name means “Assembly of the Dead”, a name that refers to the sultans’ desire to show the heads of executed criminals to the crowd.
