An overview of Marrakech – Part 7

Places not to miss – continued,

The Souks - continued

Rue Semarine

The main route into the souks is via an arch just north of Jemaa El Fna and along this perpetually busy, sun-dappled alley. Shop owners along Semarine attempt to entice with a miscellany of robes, kaftans, carpets and antiques.

Souk El Kebir

Straight on from Rue Semarine takes you to the heart of the souks. It’s a narrow alley that lurches from side to side and up and down. It is lined by dozens of the tiniest shops you have ever seen, some are barely a person wide and each is overflowing with goods, particularly leather.

Souk des Babouches

Every shop and stall here sells nothing but brightly- coloured, soft-leather, pointy-toed slippers known as babouches.

Souk des Tapis

Earlier an auction place for slaves, this souk is now crowded with a number of carpet sellers (left).

Souk des Teinturiers

Sheaves of freshly dyed wool are hung from ropes strung across one particular alleyway for a vibrantly colourful scene. This is one of the most picturesque places in Marrakech, the Dyers’ Souk is a tangle of narrow alleyways east of the Mouassine Mosque. It becomes a riot of colours during the day, when hanks of just-dyed wools are hung out to dry. The dyers themselves are very easy to identify as they are the men with red, purple and blue colours up to their elbows.

Souk des Ferronniers

Multiple hammering sounds fill the air in the medina’s medieval parts where the ironworkers (below) create furniture, lanterns and other items

Fondouks

The fondouk is an ancient hostelry for travelling merchants built around a courtyard. Most are now used as workshops. To the north of the Mouassine Mosque, past Café Arabe is an excellent example of a fondouk or old merchants’ hostel. Currently the rooms on the ground floor are used as workshops and the ones upstairs are mainly used for storage purposes. This particular fondouk has had a brush with the movies, when it featured in the film Hideous Kinky as the hotel where actress Kate Winslet and her daughters are meant to be staying.

Souk El Khemis

Entrepreneurs renovating riads scout this flea market to the north of the medina for unusual items of furniture

Souk El Bab Salaam

This covered market serves the nearby mellah quarter with everything from food and spices to caged birds.

Rahba Kedima

This open square is home to sellers of dried scorpions, leeches and other bizarre substances and objects for use in sihacen, or black magic.

Continued in part 8