The sights, sounds and smells of the Jemaa El Fna market (pronounced Jem-ah el fenna) are one of the great treats of a trip to the desert city of Marrakech in Morocco. If you enter the giant square from the west you’ll play “human Frogger” to cross the many lanes of traffic to get to the square. Enter the park area, pass all of the tour buses, the Club Med hotel, work your way through the crowd and you’ll find a world of snake charmers, street hustlers, vendors, and food stalls. It’s like going back in time.
This is a place where mothers ride motorbikes carrying three other people and a load of supplies, where donkeys still pull carts, where snakes are still charmed, and where if you’re not careful you’ll end up with a monkey on your back.
The high pitched whine of the snake charmer’s pipe drones on in the background as I walk through the food stalls in search of something delectable. Everyone here is your friend, and the hosts for each food stall can be extremely pushy and annoyingly charming. They’ll call out to you in every language thinkable to try and get your attention — particularly if you ignore them. On numerous occasions at different carts I was told that their chef was Jamie Oliver. These guys must have all gone to the same sales school!
Picking a place to eat can be rather daunting, and on my first night in the square I had a great time, but likely chose the wrong cart. My meal was less than a few dollars American, but I have a feeling I still paid too much. There were a few other tourists at my table, which was basically just a long collapsible wooden table like you’d find in a school gymnasium, but there were not very many locals.
Across the way I notice that one stall’s host is arguing with the neighbouring stall’s host. It appears that the first stall doesn’t like the second one’s pushy sales tactics, and thinks that he is driving away his customers. I observe for a while and he’s kind of right. The first stall is cooking up some type of potato dish in a tagine, and the people at this smaller stall all seem to be Moroccan. Virtually every seat is taken and everyone is sitting at a bar like square around the chef. The stall next door looks like the one I’m sitting in and is mostly empty with the exception of a few tourists.
My advice for people looking to eat at Jemaa El Fna is to seek out the busy small food stalls that are packed with locals. There is an added level of assurance in this that indicates a high level of quality and food turnover. I look at my stall and there is a large stack of unrefrigerated meat kabobs sitting out in the plain air. They look fresh enough, but it is tough to say what will happen to these if nobody eats them tonight.
While I’m not one for tourist attractions, the Jemaa El Fna market is a truly special place. Unlike the Eiffel Tower or the Empire State Building this place is brimming with culture and it’s here that the locals and tourists congregate in the evenings. The scents and sounds of this place are of another time, and though it can be intimidating, this is probably one of the safest places to be in the evening.
Eating in Morocco is a treat and the Jemaa El Fna is a great place to start. Nearby to the square are a bunch of coffee shops including the Glacier Café. From a few of these places you can get access to a rooftop patio and take the ubiquitous picture of this market — not unlike that shot of the Eiffel Tower that everyone takes.
There were perhaps some more authentic things to be seen around Marrakech, but I seemed to always end up back at the Jemaa El Fna. There is something a bit magical about it that will keep you coming back over the course of your trip.
