You can easily combine two primordial desires - bread and circuses, i.e. you can eat delicious food and have fun. To do this, come to Djema el-Fna Square in the evening.
In the evenings, numerous open-air street restaurants open their trade here; acrobats, musicians, snake charmers, and “hereditary” fortunetellers immediately show their skills.
Djema El Fna Square
You will be endlessly offered to buy souvenirs, put a henna design on your body, touch a monkey and simply beg for money. In general, local residents make money in this area.
Snake charmers
A little advice, it has already been heard in numerous programs and articles, the residents of Marrakesh agree to be photographed only for money, even if you do not point the camera at them, just having it on your chest or in your hands will be a reason for them to demand money for the photo.
The history of this square is eerie; its unofficial name speaks for itself, “Square of Severed Heads.” At this place, in time immemorial, all the robbers of the country were lynched. At first, these executions were particularly cruel and fanatical; later, by the decision of the Sultan, the execution acquired a more “civilized character” - they instantly cut off the head of the criminal, without subjecting him to public torture. And the heads were displayed in the square for the edification of citizens.
Djema El Fna Square
Now this is a peaceful shopping and entertainment area, and aggressiveness is only shown by barkers of street retail outlets.
Be sure to have small items in reserve, because... As a rule, local traders do not have change.
All sightseeing tours of Marrakech begin from Djema el-Fna Square.
You can book excursions and contact the guide, discussing all the nuances of the upcoming excursion program, from home, when you are still planning a trip to Marrakesh.
Jema el Fna Square (Marrakesh, Morocco) - description, history, location, reviews, photos and videos.
- Last minute tours Worldwide
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Jemaa el-Fnaa Square is the soul of Marrakech, the main landmarks of which are the Cafe du France and the mosque building, from where all excursions around the city begin. The unforgettable atmosphere has become a magnet for millions of tourists from all over the world, guests of Morocco.
The name of Djema el-Fna Square comes from “jama” - “cathedral mosque” and “fna” - “death” or “the place where death reigns.” It is also called “the square of severed heads” because of its terrible past. In the 10th century, robbers and criminals were executed (beheaded) here.
These executions were very cruel. The condemned were subjected to terrible torture for a week before the lynching, including having their eyes gouged out, and only then, when they were completely disfigured, were they beheaded. Sometimes up to fifty people were executed per day, and their heads were hung on the city gates. Later, the execution was simplified; the criminals were not tortured, but their heads were immediately cut off.
“Showcase of traditional Morocco” is also called the Djema el-Fna square, where a shocking and attractive atmosphere prevails and where the passage of time is not noticeable.
Today, Djema el Fna Square is a city within a city, the busiest place in Marrakech. In the morning and afternoon it is practically indistinguishable from other Moroccan squares. In a huge space under the hot sun - shops of spice traders, several vans selling fresh orange juice, sellers of herbs and fruits, traditional water carriers in colorful outfits taking pictures with everyone, sometimes cobra tamers - that's almost all that can be seen here in the daytime.
But at sunset behind the minaret of Koutoubia, real life begins. Noise, din, rhythms of bendirs (tambourines) and the clanging of metal castanets, in some places the crowd is so crowded that it is impossible to get through.
Rows of fresh oranges, grapefruits, pineapples, mangoes (optional), sweet shops (baklava, Turkish delight, tea-coffee and more), fish and meat cafes, where everything is prepared, fried, and immediately eaten by customers in front of passers-by. Everything is delicious, fresh and at low prices.
A little further on the open-air theater begins. Here you can see entire performances of cobra tamers, Gnaoua dancers (descendants of black slaves from Guinea), building living pyramids and performing amazing pirouettes and jumps to the wild delight of hundreds of onlookers, acrobats from Amizmiz, sword swallowers, belly dancing, scorpion fighting and much more. - you can’t list everything.
The place of such spectacles is a human circle, in the center of which the action takes place, after watching which you will definitely have to pay, which is closely monitored by the “impresarios” of the artists.
Therefore, it is advisable to take more small change with you, since you may not get change from large bills.
Tired of the actors' performances, you can relax at a small wooden table on the terrace of one of the taverns or cafes, beckoning with acetylene lamps, and try harira for 1 MAD or a piece of kefta for 2 MAD, or taste Moroccan tea, while watching the seething, steaming, colorful oriental life on Djema El-Fna.
The Djema el-Fna Square, together with the Medina of Marrakech, became a UNESCO site in 1985.
“Showcase of traditional Morocco” is also called the Djema el-Fna square, where a shocking and attractive atmosphere prevails and where the passage of time is not noticeable. This is a delightful, amazing place, shrouded in mysticism, which for many centuries was the center of Marrakesh and a symbol of its unique, completely disordered architecture, which never became a logically complete ensemble.
Prices on the page are as of September 2018.
Jemaa el Fna Square attracts tourists from all over the world with its unusual atmosphere that prevails after sunset. The square has several names: “The Place Where Death Reigns” and “The Square of Severed Heads” because of its past.
In the 10th century, lynchings of robbers, murderers, thieves and other criminals were carried out on the cathedral square. After the verdict was announced, for a week the accused was subjected to terrible torture, his hands were cut off, his eyes were gouged out, he was dragged across the entire square, and only then the mutilated and exhausted robber was lynched. In those days, the law was strict and not particularly fair, so such a fate could affect even a true believer.
Now Djemaa El Fna is a place of unbridled celebration after sunset. Not only tourists, but also Moroccan families, young and old, gather here to have fun watching national dances, acting performances and tasting culinary masterpieces at a low cost.
We set out to explore the beauties of Marrakech, including a look at Djema El Fna Square, on our own, without the assistance of guides. We bought tickets at the bus station in Agadir (intersection av. Abderrahim Bouabid/av. Hassan 1er). You can buy round-trip tickets immediately, as well as to other cities in Morocco. The cost of a ticket from the CTM auto company is 105 dirhams. The bus arrives at the CTM Gare Voyage bus station (not far from the train station), and departs from there.
From the bus station you can get to Medina by taxi (50 dirhams, you can also bargain) or by bus (4 dirhams). You can reach the square in 15 minutes by bus number 14.
Where to stay: hotels
We stayed at the Hotel Ichbilia, which overlooks the main square of Jema el Fna, and booked it through Booking.com. However, the photographs presented on the site do not correspond to reality. Also be prepared for the lack of towels, shampoo, and shower gel in hotels. The cost of one night in a room for three is 225 dirhams. The only plus is the proximity to the Medina, the square and the large market, so you can stay here for one night.
Of course, there are nicer options, but the price is at least twice as high.
What's going on in Djemaa el-Fna Square?
For locals, Jema el-fna Square is a meeting place for friends and relatives; for tourists, it is a storehouse of national traditions and local culinary specialties. During the day there is an unpleasant stench here; by evening, beggars, blind people, legless people, grandmothers, children, refugees from Syria, a crazy local prostitute with bare breasts gradually emerge from the slums. It all looks creepy until you reach the square along the main street past all the holy fools and unscrupulous extortionists, and you begin to yearn for a completely Europeanized Agadir.
Remember an important rule: do not pick up anything, even if they say it is “present”. Then they will start asking for payment and may even start a scandal, accusing you of almost theft. Be friendly, but don't be fooled. This does not mean that all Moroccans are bad people and scammers, most locals will gladly help you find your way, some will gladly take you to your destination, making the remark “I’m not helping you because of the money.” Not only Arabs live in Morocco, but also African Americans and Gypsies, many of them are engaged in robbery and deception.
One of the ladies grabbed my hand and started asking questions about tattoos, and immediately started drawing with henna, which you didn’t even have time to come to your senses. He says that he will draw a very small drawing, but in the end he paints his entire palm with strange, ugly patterns and sprinkles it with multi-colored rhinestones. You tell her that you didn’t ask to paint your hand, and this drawing is completely unnecessary, she begins to tell you that she spent a lot of henna. We give her dirhams and leave, she angrily returns to her gypsy girlfriends in burqas and complains about the greed of tourists.
Another, when you pass, puts a pigeon on his shoulder and begins to pull his hand, they also thrust snakes, lizards and all sorts of other representatives of the local fauna. You need to have nerves of iron to repel attacks from annoying Arabs, Berbers, Africans, and gypsies.
Try not to photograph Arabs, snake charmers, actors, musicians, otherwise a conflict may begin, with shouting and even a fight.
Many travelers come specifically to Djemaa el-Fna Square to taste national dishes at a low cost.
We tried couscous, vegetarian tagine, the legendary Harira soup, kebab mix, and Moroccan salad. Only the couscous turned out to be more or less tasty; the tagine contained one carrot, a couple of potatoes and pea pods, and the soup turned out to be completely tasteless. Dinner costs about 70-100 dirhams for three, considering that in the Agadir souk we had a meal for 30 dirhams maximum, and got much more pleasure from the taste. But be sure to try the boiled snails with spices (5 dirhams) - excellent!
Many guidebooks write that you can eat for 1-2 dirhams, I don’t know in what times this was, but now the cheapest is snails and tasteless soup (5 dirhams), everything else starts from 30 dirhams.
In the square you can also watch folk dances, listen to songs, while enjoying orange (4 dirhams) or bamboo juice (6 dirhams). For comparison, in Agadir on the market both of these types cost 5 dirhams. We spent about two hours in the square, conflicting with annoying waiters, snake charmers, fortune tellers, wizards, musicians, and sellers, and went to the hotel.
The next day in the morning there was silence in the square, we had breakfast in a cafe next to our hotel quite cheaply (tea, coffee - 10 dirhams, buns, croissants - 3-5 dirhams). There are many cafes near the square where you can enjoy European cuisine, national flatbreads and Moroccan sweets.
Be sure to take a walk to the market, which starts right on the square and runs through the entire city.
Don’t forget to load your gadgets with a navigator that will work without the Internet, because you can get lost in the Souk quarters; you definitely won’t get out on your own without the help of a map or navigator. Souk is like a city within a city! Here you can profitably buy leather goods (bags, backpacks, jackets, shoes), spices, fruits, national clothes, scarves.
The spacious Jemaa el-Fna square is the hallmark of the Moroccan kingdom.
But there was a period when this place had far from a good reputation.
Jemaa el-Fna is translated from Arabic as “square of the dead” - until the nineteenth century, it was here that criminals were executed. But, despite the horror of everything that was happening, the cultural and social significance of the square was undeniable in those days.It is the same age as Marrakesh, which was founded in 1062, claiming from the very beginning to be the architectural ensemble of the city. In the twelfth century, the Koutoubia Mosque with an almost seventy-meter minaret, considered in the Maghreb as an example of religious architecture, appeared near it. They are separated by an alley, both sides of which are planted with slender tall palm trees. Pleasure carriages await tourists here.
As soon as the sun rose, painting the city in its characteristic red-orange color, life in the square immediately began to boil. Among the first to appear are sellers of freshly squeezed orange juice. Just the sight of colorful trays on wheels of barker-sellers with neat piles of orange fruit arouses genuine interest among visiting tourists. On the neighboring carts there are piles of prunes, dried apricots, dates, almonds, and various nuts. The square is quickly overgrown with greenish umbrellas, in the shade of which the main characters of the folk booth set up - magicians, snake charmers, fire swallowers, fakirs, henna tattoo artists, sellers of medicinal potions, cunning fortune tellers.
Snake taming is a unique attraction in Marrakech that many watch from afar.
The owners of the terrible reptiles claim that there is no danger, since their pets have been tamed for a long time and are devoid of poisonous glands. The level of noise effects in the square increases significantly when local folk ensembles perform here. It is curious that the performers of women's dances are often men dressed in the clothes of the fair sex.Here you can chat with magot monkeys - inhabitants of the Atlas Mountains. Their friendliness and sociability directly depend on the presence of treats in your hands.
As the sun approaches, the square fills with dozens of mobile food carts to feed the guests and residents of Marrakech to their fill. Here you can try all the famous Moroccan dishes: meat stew tagine, bastila pie, lamb mechoui, grilled over coals.
Old-timers claim that the colorful action on Jemaa el-Fna Square takes place day after day for many centuries, and each time, thanks to the indefatigable imagination of Moroccans, it turns out to be different from the previous one.
This is a description of the attraction Jemaa el Fna Square in the Medina city of Marrakech, Marrakech-tensift-el-haouz (Morocco). As well as photos, reviews and a map of the surrounding area. Find out the history, coordinates, where it is and how to get there. Check out other places on our interactive map for more detailed information. Get to know the world better.
The main center of attraction, of course, is Jemaa el-Fna Square, located inside the medieval medina.
Jemaa El Fna is one of the largest and busiest squares in the Arab East, or better yet, the West, because the city of Marrakech is located west of London.
In the 16th century, plans were made to build a huge mosque in the center of Marrakech, but this was prevented by the death of King Ahmed El Mansour. The construction site turned into a square. Nowadays Jemaa El-Fna - the “unbuilt mosque”, a metaphor for the futility of human efforts - is a temple of worldly vanity, in which they trade, cook food, tell stories, swallow fire, show acrobatic performances, charm snakes and tourists.
The heart of Marrakech is the Jemaa el-Fna square, which translated means “gathering of the dead” or “square of severed heads.” It got its name in the old days: criminals were publicly executed here, hanging their heads on the walls. From an architectural point of view, Jemaa el-Fna Square is not particularly remarkable, although it is recognized by UNESCO as a cultural heritage of humanity.
Its value lies elsewhere - the real life of the city is clearly visible here, which is why, despite everything, it is called one of the main attractions of Marrakech. During the day, the square is calm: on the approach to Jemaa el-Fna, gigs drawn by a pair of horses wait, and piles of oranges rise on carts, from which fresh juice will be immediately squeezed. Fortune tellers and henna painters offer their services, and a healer sits on a carpet nearby.
Various potions are laid out in bags in front of him: dried lizards and frogs, powders and roots. Moroccans believe that local healers possess the secrets of the magic of old Maghreb sorcerers, so they must be treated with respect. Ringing loudly with bells, water carriers in red suits and wide-brimmed shaggy hats walk around the square, offering people to quench their thirst from polished brass cups. In truth, they don’t sell water so much as they pose for tourists – always for money.
Closer to sunset, the square transforms! It flashes with thousands of lights and is filled with stalls selling fruits and spices. The beat of drums and songs can be heard from all sides.
Jemaa el-Fna turns into a huge theatrical venue where several actions take place at once. At every step, jugglers, acrobats, snake charmers and fire tamers stage their performances. And what happens here is not only intended to entertain foreigners - this is the kind of life the square and the city itself live constantly.
In the covered street stalls adjacent to Jemaa El Fna Square and in all 18 markets of the old city - Medina - buying without bargaining is considered the height of bad taste. All goods, especially leather, camel hair, copper products, carpets, spices, are many times cheaper than at the cheapest European flea market. But the real price, as well as the real quality, is known only to the seller himself.
The Austrian writer and Nobel laureate Elias Canetti, who visited Marrakech after the Second World War, wrote that the most difficult thing for a European is to combine eloquence with dignity when bargaining: to bring down the price eloquently. Not many succeed: visitors often bargain without humor and are offended by refusal, or are even ready to pay any price, not only losing money, but also losing something more valuable - the only opportunity for communication in a Muslim city, where personal life and home comfort carefully protected from prying eyes.
Here you can wander around, taking in the sights of Marrakech along the way, mingling with the locals - colorful men in long robes and women with heads covered with hijab.
Or watch what is happening, sitting in one of the cafes and drinking traditional mint tea. You can try national dishes at quite affordable prices: the famous couscous, lamb with figs and dates, tagine - a dish of chicken, meat or fish, cooked with vegetables in a clay conical vessel.
