Better to see something once than hear about it a thousand times
Marrakech Medina Tips and tricks
A quite distinct place which pretty much everyone visiting Marrakech is aware of is the Medina – the central square of the Djemaa El Fna. This ‘Assembly place of Nobodies’ is centre of Marrakech life. The ancient streets, souks, businesses and homes of the Marrakech medina tell the story of a thousand years of urban development at the western edge of the Islamic world.
We arrived from the airport right to the square and were left spell bound. After check-in at our Riad, we strolled through the narrow lanes to the Medina square. Absolute Chaos – This is what defines this place. Take a while, stand back and try taking everything in. A lot of hustle bustle of pretty much everything. You would be approached instantly by everyone who has something to offer you or something to sell you.
The first tip – the word ‘NO’ and a pretty stern version of this comes very handy here and goes a long way.
Snake charmers are something I had read before of being a nuisance here and yes they are. I tried keeping my distance for 2 reasons – first I didn’t want to be duped, and second I am shit scared of these reptiles. If you unknowingly walk close to these guys, the next moment you would have a snake around your neck and they would start asking you for money.
The second tip – If the snake charmers see you clicking pictures , they would ask for money.
The same goes for the guys with monkeys playing tricks. Not a fan of animals performing tricks! I had one guy who got his Monkey onto my arm the instant I crossed their path but just hushed them away with a stern look. Be prepared for some sarcastic replies.
Read our Travel tips for Morocco which can come very handy – Click here
You would see various characters here – some going about their daily life, some trying to dupe the crap out of you. Midst all of this you have taxis, donkey carts criss-crossing the square.
The third tip is – Beware of the fast mopeds which zip past these narrow lanes.
During the day time you would also see witch dentists, palm readers and also ventriloquists – a theatre of chaos. Another must do while at the square is to visit one of the many fresh fruit juice stalls. There are many and you couldn’t miss them. They would offer you half a glass of mocktail to entice you in and then they go for the jugular!
I happened to try the mango juice and guess what — They offered me mango juice mixed with orange juice. It even had orange seeds in it!
The Fourth tip here is “Go for the orange juice” – that’s one of the best you can have.
Read more about our list of the top things to do in Marrakech – Click here
Towards the evening the atmosphere changes. It gets more frenzy as the sun sets and locals put their stalls out for the evening theatre. Luckily we were staying close to the square and have visited it every single night and I must say its no less than a Carnival. The place comes alive at night.
Story tellers, tight rope walkers and even huge LCD screens dawn this area and not to mention the food stalls.
Read our Travel tips for Morocco which can come very handy – Click here
The Medina at night is a foodie’s paradise – lanes and lanes of food stalls dawn the place. But its mind blogging hard to enter any of these lanes. You are swarmed by guys trying to entice you into their stall offering you numerous deals. And once they know you are from India then you hear all about Shahrukh and Salman khan, some even go to the extent of putting their arms around you trying to entice you into a stall – So rather than being polite, my first tip above comes real handy here. Just be stern!! It can really get daunting at times and we avoided going into these lanes again from the next day.
The fifth tip – Visit the food stall where you see the most localites.
Ofcourse there is no point in visiting the Medina and not binging on some street food. We avoided doing the same till the last night as we didn’t want an upset tummy ruining our vacation, however, on the last night all hell broke loose. Always visit a stall where you see the most locals having their dinner or enjoying a snack. On the perimeter of the square, we found two such stalls offering fresh sausages and other offering sheep’s head. We tried both sitting midst the locals next to the smoky grill and we didn’t regret one bit – absolutely delicious.
The other side of the medina are the famous Souks of Marrakech. I heard that this is a 19KM plethora of alleys and shops selling everything one can imagine of. On our last day, we decided to explore the Souks. Having been to Grand Bazaar in turkey before, the atmosphere wasn’t overwhelming in the Marrakech souks.
There are various maps to the souks, one of which is below – however the best advice here is to ‘Get Lost’. Its next to impossible to navigate using any maps here. So just follow the alleyways and you would see various new alleyways branching to the left or right which take to a different region of the souk. If lost just ask a shop vendor and he would surely help.
Map:
One can find everything from olives, spices, clothes, twinkling lamps, crafts, antiques, wool, silk, leather goods and much more here. But the key here is – Bargain.
The Sixth tip – Bargain in the souk – Ask for 1/3 the asking price.
We aren’t best at bargaining but on any given day – Li is the worst at it! However, the thumb rule is ask for 1/3 the asking price, if not walk. Usually you will hear them call back – in that case budge a little else you now know the baseline price so go to the next shop offering the same product. Some shopkeepers entice you with Mint tea and then you are obliged to have a chat or buy stuff – avoid such situations. Keep my first tip above handy.
The Medina – renowned around the world truly offers an exotic and ageless experience.
Read more about our Morocco visit– Click here.
If you have queries/feedback, please leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
This is Aldrin and my partner Amoli. We bring you "Earths Pilgrim" - a unique insight into our travel escapades while leaving life in a cubicle. If you are looking for some inspiration to break the shackles of a regular life, then you are the right place. Read more about us- Click here.
These are some really good tips here and your photos are fantastic! Great inspiration
Yikes! I’m really not a fan of the animals chained and “trained” to perform tricks either – that would be quite an alarming scene!! The food in the markets, however, looks INCREDIBLE! That would be a tough scene to navigate with all the positives and negatives. And yes, bargaining is a tough game, but entirely necessary at times haha!
This is the first time I read a blog about Medina! Quite inspiring!
This is an interesting post. Sometimes, its hard to visualise how some places would be until you see the pictures that is. Loved the captures and the activities as shown in the post. Not read anything on this subject before. Glad we stumbled upon this organised chaos 🙂
Ahh I love street food. It is truly a way to get to know the local food culture and some of the tastiest food as well. Your pictures are magnificent and I had no idea there were snake charmers. I have to say, like you, I don’t like seeing caged animals, but that is kind of cool.
Pretty much reminds me of home with the organized chaos lol. haggling is my middle name though this might test my skills lol. So, snake charmers would wind a snake round your neck if you go close??? *internal screaming* Plus, I detest monkeys. It’s more of a fear because they can scratch, bite and pull. Yikes!
Wow! Sorry but the snakes..I would be running and screaming, lol. Not to mention I’m not crazy about monkeys. I would be making my way over to the market and food area pretty quick. I’m sure by the looks of your photos I would love every minute!
I have always wanted to visit Morocco, especially Marrakesh. And this is a good starting point for me. Now I know what to look out for. PS. I am shit scared of snakes too! 🙂
I’ve been to Marrakesh a couple of years ago and it’s definitely a fascinating place. I only really pity the animals – especially the monkeys – for being mistreated and abused for entertaining tourists 🙁
It is such a shame that I visited Morocco without visiting Marrakesh! I would have loved to visit the medina and try to bargain my way through it. Thanks for the great tips
So glad I found your article! We are spending four weeks in Morocco in October, so we’ll definitely be following your tips when we visit Marrakesh.
I wish these tips come Handy. Have a nice stay in Morocco
oh nice, thanks for the tips for one of the most interesting markets of the world. I would love to photograph there, markets always show a lot of local cultures. Good to know that you have to be careful with “snake guys”.
I’d love to visit Marrakesh one day; the scenery and culture look and sound so fascinating. You’ve given some great haggling tips in this article, which is definitely one of my worst skills. Lol
Its the same withe me–Absolutely horrible at haggling…
What an awesome description of such a frenetic market that would be an absolute must-see and experience. Been in a number of those sorts of places around the world, but this sounds like the topper! And your advice “be stern” is universal! 😉
Wow ! I would really like to visit this place someday. It looks much like India. After all you don’t get to see snake charmers everywhere on Earth. Loved the tips and will refer when I go to Morocco. The pictures show that its quite a busy place with lots to do unlike the glamorous pictures which I generally see on Instagram.
The word No goes a long way in many places I have visited. I too am not a fan of animals being used like this. Nice post.
Great read and information. Marrakech is such an interesting place and the souks looks incredible. Love bartering inn markets as well as shopping. Fabulous photos. Bookmarked this post for future reference.
Wow it sure looks beautiful, night markets really intrigue me, especially when they’re full of locals more than tourists! I’m so glad you didn’t partake in the monkey act, times are definitely changing when it comes to using/abusing animals for fun.
What a lovely place!! Looks like it definitely is the place to be and I see why a lot of pple go there!!
You should definitely visit
Thank you for some of the amazing tips. I am also not in favour of using innocent animals for their personal gain, but well the best thing we can do is ignore them.
Your are welcome… hope these tips come handy