Marrakesh Medina and Souks
Marrakesh is one of the most popular tourist spots for travellers to Morocco. It is the fourth largest city in Morocco and is known for its colourful vibrant city life and beautiful architecture.
Visiting The Souks and Medina
The Medina of Marrakesh is the old city inside the walls. The walls stretch 16km surrounding this area. The souks within the Medina have been an important trading point for centuries, nowadays this is a popular tourist spot.
The souks are rows upon rows of shops and market stalls selling all sorts of spices, food, clothing and accessories. Locals still shop here but you can also see the influence the increase in tourists has had here as there are also many souvenir shops amongst the more authentic stalls.
When visiting the souks for the first time we opted on a guided tour as we were unsure of what to expect. I would definitely recommend this if you would like to learn more about the history and they took us to places we would have never found on our own. However, the souks were not as overwhelming as we expected (especially during the day, it does get busier at night) so if you’d prefer to explore by yourself you could do this too.
The sprawling alleyways of shops are easy to get lost in. I’d recommend starting at the main square in the Medina, Jemaa el-Fnaa, and going a little way in one direction before turning back to get a feel for it before exploring too far.
Jemaa el-Fnaa
Jemaa el-Fnaa the main square in the medina is one of the most famous tourist attractions. The area also fills with vendors and is surrounded by shops and restaurants. This area also gets busier as the night draws in but there is still plenty to see throughout the day. I’d recommend visiting one of the surrounding restaurants to eat on their terraces for a view of the square from above.
Top Tips and Safety
– Nothing is free! Don’t accept anything unless you are willing to pay for it. This also includes taking pictures of animals or performers, they will often request payment after.
– Don’t support the animal acts. You will still find people parading snakes and monkeys in this area which is incredibly cruel to these animals and shouldn’t be supported. As I said before don’t try and take pictures or these either as the vendor will make you pay.
– Protect your belongings. This goes for traveling anywhere nowadays but be careful with your items and watch your surroundings. I always recommend wearing your bag on your front so you can see it at all times.
– Clothing. Being a Muslim country you will find all locals especially the women will be more covered with their clothing choices. Other tourists on my visit wore a wide variety of clothing options and I didn’t see anyone have any issues with what they were wearing. I did choose to wear longer trousers options and shirts to cover my shoulder which did make me feel more comfortable (and is also good protection from the sun)
Fun Facts
– Also known as the Red Town / Red City because of the red Kasbah wall surrounding the medina which was founded in 1062
– The word Riad comes from the Arabic term for Garden. There are many reasons for these Gardens / courtyards in their houses but mainly they wanted to represent the Muslim vision of paradise and for privacy from the outside.
Must Sees
Koutoubia – The Koutoubia mosque is the tallest building in Marrakesh, so easy to see from many parts of the city. It is also the largest mosque in Marrakesh. Tourists cannot enter Koutoubia but i’d still recommend visiting to see the building from outside and explore its surrounding gardens.
Gardens – Le Jardin Secret / Jardin Majorelle
Private gardens and courtyards were very important in Marrakesh’s history and many of these gardens are now open to the public.
Jardin Majorelle is one of the most famous gardens with its ties to Yves Saint Laurent. The garden was originally designed by Jacques Majorelle starting in 1923. He treated the garden as a painting and collect plants from his travels to add to it. Saint Laurent purchased and took over the garden in 1980. In recent years new museums have been added to the garden. Tickets must be purchased in advance online to visit Jardin Majorelle.
During my recent visit to Marrakesh we visited Le Jardin Secret. This garden, rebuilt in the 19th century, is located inside the Medina walls. It is only a small garden with 2 areas but I enjoyed seeing the beautiful structures and the views from the top of the tower. We visited early morning so the area was very quiet, the walk through the souks was also still quiet which was nice to see it more relaxed.
