Jemaa el-Fna
Place Jemaa el-FnaJemaa el-Fna, Marrakech: the UNESCO-listed main square, what happens there by day and night, and how to enjoy it.
Jemaa el-Fna is the big triangular square at the entrance to Marrakech's medina, with the Koutoubia minaret just to the west. UNESCO proclaimed its cultural space a masterpiece of intangible heritage in 2001.
The square has been a gathering place since the city's early centuries. By day there are orange juice stalls, water sellers, henna painters, herbalists and snake charmers. As darkness falls, dozens of food stalls set up and the storytellers, Gnaoua musicians and halqa circles draw crowds.
Look at the performers, but also at the terraces around the edge, where you can watch the whole square from above. The Jemaa el-Fna Museum of Intangible Heritage, in the old Bank al-Maghrib building of 1922, tells its story.
It is loud and busy, and some performers and henna artists ask for money once you stop or take a photo. Agree any price first.
Good to know
- Ask before photographing performers; most expect a few dirhams.
- Agree prices at the food stalls before you sit.
- Keep phones and wallets in a front pocket in the evening crowd.
Sources: ich.unesco.org, en.wikipedia.org, fnm.ma