MOROCCO | Monday, 23 August 2010 | Views [623]
Marrakech, the souk: the heart of town. Early in the morning, while the tourists are still asleep in their luxurious riads (traditional Moroccan houses with an interior garden), the narrow streets of the medina are already swarming with men in djellabas and women hiding their faces behind chadras, going about their business the way they have been doing for centuries. Every day, within the ancient walls of the medina, the same daily ritual is repeated as men and women haggle for various goods over a glass of hot mint tea. Rays of sunlight through the palm-frond roof illuminate the mind-boggling variety of wares—from silver Berber jewellery, blue-glazed Fassi ceramics, argan oil, brassware, tajine spices, meats, snails, magic potions, lanterns, freshly dyed saffron and vermillion wool, djellabas and purses to sequin-dotted leather camel toys, babouches (traditional leather slippers), burnooses (hooded capes) and magic carpets.
Tags: marrakech, the souk.
