Once, every Moroccan city had a main square where storytellers and musicians entertained the townspeople, but the Jemaa el Fna has always been the biggest and most important, drawing the greatest variety of performers, and it remains Morocco’s single top attraction. To see why, come here as it gets going in the evening; you’ll soon be squatting amid the onlookers, soaking in the unique atmosphere. For respite, the café and restaurant rooftop terraces set around it afford a view over the square and of the Koutoubia minaret – as much a symbol of Marrakesh as Big Ben is of London – while the northern edge of the square marks the beginning of Marrakesh’s souks, or markets.
The Mystery and History of the Square
Nobody is entirely sure when or how the Jemaa el Fna came into being – or even what its name means. The usual translation is “assembly of the dead”, which could refer to the public display here of the heads of rebels and criminals, since the Jemaa was a place of execution well into the nineteenth century.
Daytime Curiosities: From Snake Charmers to Tooth-Pullers
By day, most of the square is just a big open space, in which a handful of snake charmers play their flutes at cruelly de-fanged cobras, medicine men (especially in the northeast of the square) display cures and nostrums and tooth-pullers, wielding fearsome pliers, offer to pluck the pain from out of the heads of toothache sufferers, trays of extracted molars attesting to their skill.
Dusk’s Transformation: A Feast for the Senses
It isn’t until late afternoon that the crowds really build. At dusk, people come out for an early evening promenade, and the square gradually fills with storytellers, acrobats and musicians. For refreshment, stalls offer freshly squeezed orange and grapefruit juice, while neighbouring handcarts are piled high with dates, dried figs, almonds and walnuts. As dusk falls, the square becomes a huge open-air dining area, packed with stalls lit by gas lanterns, and the air is filled with wonderful smells and plumes of cooking smoke spiralling up into the night.
The Rhythms of the Night: Storytellers and Musicians
The locals’ favourite among the square’s performers are the storytellers, great raconteurs who draw quite a throng with their largely humorous tales. Dozens of musicians in the square play all kinds of instruments. In the evening there are full groups including Gnaoua trance-healers, who beat out hour-long hypnotic rhythms with clanging iron castanets and pound tall drums with long curved sticks. Other groups play Moroccan popular folk music, known as chaabi, and late into the night, you’ll still find players plucking away at their lute-like ginbris.
Practical Tips: Refreshments and Responsible Tourism
There are sideshow attractions too: games of hoop-the-bottle and fortune-tellers. Women with piping bags offer henna "tattoos," but beware of synthetic “black henna” which is toxic; only red henna is natural. In the daytime, monkey men and snake charmers encourage tourists to pose for photos, but the animals are often treated cruelly. Far better then to have your picture taken with the tooth-pullers, or the water sellers in their magnificent red regalia.
