The Tooth Pullers...

In addition to legitimate dentists, Marrakech is home to a most peculiar profession: the tooth yanker.

These men practice their trade in the souk or on the Place Jemaa El Fna totally free of legal restrictions and heedless of any hygienic precautions.  Under the gaze of passersby - and on ground covered in spit - the unlucky fellow unable to afford 'indoor' dental care has his teeth pulled without any anaesthetic and only a drop of two of disinfectant.

Astonished tourists will sometimes photograph the spectacle, "No, thanks!" they say with a smirk, put off by the idea of receiving dental care from a man who knows nothing of medicine and works in such unsanitary conditions.

Nevertheless, it would be like taking the bread out of his mouth to say that he is "lying through his teeth"!

A Load of Cobblers...

Out in the middle of the little alleys of Marrakech, you come across cobblers' workshops, really just simple iron crates on wheels, shaded all year round by umbrellas.

A pile of mismatched footwear at his side, the shoe artisan taps, nails and glues with finesse.  Boots, espadrilles, moccasins - no matter the brand, the quality, the state of the shoes or the time it takes - the cobbler repairs each item to the fullest satisfaction of the customer.  Late into the night, the noise of little hammers echo throughout the neighbourhood.

These hard working cobblers are never entrusted with tourist's shoes.  And yet, what skill!  With a little thread, some nails and a dab of glue, plain shoes are totally revamped; its the miracle of the red city cobblers.  They'll never start you off on the wrong foot!

Sacred Plant and Herb Peddlers

In Morocco, like in much of the Eastern world, smoke rituals are integral to certain ceremonies.  Plants are left to smoulder slowly, like incense, on the occasion of a birth, circumcision or wedding night.  A smoke ritual is an offering to God that he might bless the happy event, or to the spirits, whose good graces one is aiming to secure.  Smoke rituals are also meant to protect a house and its inhabitants from evil beings - the jealous djinn always ready to stir up a little chaos.

Infertility, loss of sex drive, impotence, the reconciliation of estranged lovers - it is all a matter of bewitching and unbewitching, and the women are always quick to fill the air with smoke from just the right herb.  It's clear why suppliers of plants and herbs for smoke rituals are so common here - their goods are essential when confronting the powers of the spirit world.

Traders of the Marrakech Streets

Street Trades are disappearing everywhere.  However, in Marrakech they still flourish and are often indispensable.  They are on every street corner. Everyone makes the best of their rituals and rules; its partly thanks to them that Morocco's roots remain anchored in tradition.  Its a country which looks bravely and positively to the future while remaining faithful to its past.

Take the storytellers for example.  Along the ramparts of the old city walls of Marrakech, in the public gardens, or on the famous Place Jemaa El Fna, you will find storytellers spinning their extraordinary tales.  Dressed in djellabas, they can be recognised by the ribbon tied around their head. In front of a captivated, gullible audience, they unwind all sorts of yarns: ancient stories of love, fairy tales and sagas of fabulous adventures in imagined lands.  Eyes wide open and mouths agape, children and adults listen intently.  Many of the stories having been passed down for generations over a thousand years.  The tale over, the raconteur collects a little spare change before searching for another audience to enthral, to transport to a far-off time and place. A dreamweaver, the storyteller carries with him myriad visions of the Orient.

Website Launch!

Today we are pleased to launch our riad website: www.riadromman.com.  You can stay at Riad Romm'an on an private exclusive use only basis, i.e. it is not a guest house.  The riad comes with its own attentive, but discreet staff, who are there just for you.

The Rug Man

 

Hamid is our trusted rug man in Marrakech.  In a city which is not short of excellent rug shops, its easy to become baffled by where to go for a good deal on an authentic carpet.  

His shop is like a secret, tucked away in an ancient riad, down an anonymous side street off Rue Riad Zitoun el Kdim (Street of the Old Olive Garden) in the Kenneria district of the ancient medina.  Its central courtyard and every room is piled high with hundreds of beautiful handmade ancient and modern rugs.

 

Hamid doesn't like having his picture taken.  A gentle and devout religious man, his sales of rugs are often interrupted by the call to prayer from his local Muezzin.  He excuses himself and dashes off to the mosque to pray.  We wait for him.  His rugs are so beautiful and his prices so sensible that there is no point going elsewhere.  All the rugs from Riad Romm'an came from his shop.  He brings them personally to the house and lets you try before you buy.  Once bought he promises to take them away for cleaning whenever required, for no charge, and will even exchange them for others if you fancy a change, years later.

One day while visiting his shop, a intricately detailed woven wool Djellaba is spotted hung over some rugs.  Its not for sale, Hamid collects antique Djellaba's for his own pleasure.  But in Moroccan culture, if a guest in your house compliments you on an object in your possession, you are obliged to offer it as a gift to the one who offered the compliment.  Clearly this is a problem if you collect beautiful Djellabas.  My comment of appreciation, was reluctantly responded to by Hamid with the Djellaba being offered to me as a gift.  One I could not possibly accept.  In the end I paid a fair price for it, still far less than it was worth.  It now hangs with pride of place in the entrance hall of Riad Romm'an.  A reminder of the generosity of spirit of the Moroccan people and Hamid in particular.

The Souk Macabre

"Shopping in Marrakech is dizzying to say the least and downright hallucinatory to say the most" Susan Simon - Shopping in Marrakech

Marrakech's world famous labyrinthine souks (markets) offer many delights and surprises to the adventurous.  It is fascinating to spend your days wandering through the maze of passageways, even if you have no intention of making a purchase.

Unlike many other shopping experiences in the Middle East or North Africa, tourists experience very little in the way of hassle here.  In 1999, the new king Mohammed VI instituted la brigade touristique - the tourist police roam the soaks in plainclothes keeping an eye out for over-zealous merchants, so hassling has just about disappeared from the souks.  Instead most shopkeepers are polite and respectful to tourists.

There are some shop keepers who are so laid back, they might not even notice you are there...zzzz.

There are many different districts to the souk area of the city.  These include specialist areas selling particular types of goods, including an area only selling leather goods such as handmade bags, another only metalwork such as exquisite lamps, another woodwork, or decorative objects, rugs, ethnic jewellery, embroidered linens, colourful ceramics, sequined antique shawls, gold encrusted glass-ware etc.  The spice souk for example has many interesting potions on sale.

Including some dubious berber specialities.

Deeper into the souk and you may stumble upon African death masks, which for me make an interesting and collectable souvenir.

There are even some unusual and diverse ways of showing one's wares.  In the clothes souk, how do you show off children's clothes when you have no space left on the shop floor?

Why not hang child mannequins from the canopy creating an efficient (if slightly disturbing) display!

All in a normal day, shopping in the souks of Marrakech...