Speak Moroccan Arabic

Talking about Marrakech leads inevitably to mentioning the famous place of Jamaa El Fna. This vivid monument attracts all the visitors of the city. Located at the heart of Marrakech next to the Koutoubia mosque, this space gathers, among others, sellers of spices, rare herbs and amulets, jugglers, acrobats, storytellers, healers, singers, musicians and other artists, offering a variety of animations and shows until very late at night. This square is not only for entertainment as some may think. It actually goes beyond that to be a meeting place between locals, visitors, travelers and tourists. The place includes even trading and medical treatment.

Some people claim that the name of this open theatre of Jamaa El Fna means “the gathering of death” or “the dead”, considering that formerly, criminals were executed by the sultans there, to give example for the rest of the community. The atmosphere which characterized this place, thus, was rather dominated by fear and terror, which radically changed with the installation of the square of Jamaa El Fna that inspires now joy and fun. Others say that the word “fna” does not mean by any means the word “death” but rather “hall”, as to speak about many halls offering different performances.

Usually, one finds a halqa [circle in English] with an organizer in the middle of it, to present a show with an animal, especially snakes, monkeys or donkeys, or involve the public in the performance.
When the performances are done and the sellers of orange juice leave, food sellers come for their turn in the square in order to offer various Moroccan goodies.

The specificity and the originality of Jamaa El Fna paved the way for it to be registered by the UNESCO as “masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity“, and it is the first of the kind on the international scale.