Northern Medina Travel Video Guide

Northern Medina Travel Itinerary

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It is spicy in the souks, and cool and colourful. The smell, always pleasant, changes gradually with the nature of the merchandise. There are no names or signs; there is no glass ? You find everything - but you always find it many times over .
- Elias Canetti: The Voices of Marrakesh

The souks of Marrakesh sprawl immediately north of Djemaa El Fna. They seem vast the first time you venture in, and almost impossible to navigate, though, in fact, the area that they cover is pretty compact. A long, covered street, Rue Souk Smarine , runs for half their length and then splits into two lanes - Souk El Attarin and Souk El Kebir . Off these are virtually all the individual souks: alleys and small squares devoted to specific crafts, where you can often watch part of the production process. At the top of the main area of souks, too, you can visit the Saadian Ben Youssef Medersa - the most important monument in the northern half of the Medina and arguably the finest building in the city after the Koutoubia Minaret.

If you are staying for some days, you'll probably return often to the souks - and this is a good way of taking them in, singling out a couple of specific crafts or products to see, rather than being swamped by the whole. To come to grips with the general layout, though, you might find it useful to walk round the whole area once with a guide . Despite the pressure of offers on Djemaa El Fna, don't feel that one is essential, but until the hustlers begin to recognize you (seeing that you've been in the souks before), they'll probably follow you in; if and when this happens, try to be easygoing, polite and confident - the qualities that

force most hustlers to look elsewhere.

The most interesting times to visit are in the early morning (between 6.30 and 8am) and late afternoon, at around 4 to 5pm, when some of the souks auction off goods to local traders. Later in the evening, most of the stalls are closed, but you can wander unharassed to take a look at the elaborate decoration of their doorways and arches; those stalls that stay open, until 7 or 8pm, are often more amenable to bargaining at the end of the day.

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