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Marrakesh Local Customs

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Marrakesh Travel Guide

Marrakesh Local Customs

20 dirham note - Marrakesh
20 dirham note
by tim07
Learn the local customs of Marrakesh. Tips and photos posted by real travelers and Marrakesh locals.
Local Time 12:51 pm Saturday, May 17, 2008
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Marrakesh Local CustomsTips 1 - 10 of 91  
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Orange Juice
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  • By sue_stone on February 15, 2007
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  • Orange juice vendors - Marrakesh
    Orange juice vendors
    by sue_stone, 1 more photos
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    All you freshly squeezed juice lovers out there - head to Marrakech and get your vitamin C fix! All day long you will find several carts set up in Djemma El Fna just selling orange juice. The carts are piled high with big, bright oranges and for just a few dirham they will serve you up a big glass of healthy juice. The only downside is that the glasses your juice is served in are just rinsed out in a bucket (of probably dirty water) and then used for the next person....

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    Mint Tea
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  • By sue_stone on February 15, 2007
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  • Alison enjoying her first Moroccan mint tea - Marrakesh
    Alison enjoying her first
    Moroccan mint tea
    by sue_stone,
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    As Morocco is a mostly Muslim country most of the locals do not drink alcohol, instead they drink copious amounts of mint tea. This means that during your stay you will find yourself drinking it as well. I was dubious at first....had never been a fan of the stuff, but was determined to give it a try in Marrakech - and I loved it! I found having a nice mint tea very relaxing and a great way to zone out from the hubbub around you for a while. Most of the mint teas we had were served in the traditional teapot, with a small glass, and you could just pour your own tea, one teapot holding enough for a few glasses. Sometimes the tea was a little too sweet for my taste, but I got used to it. Alternatively, a couple of times we were given a larger glass filled with fresh mint leaves and boiling water, and could just add sugar to taste. Either way, it is all good.

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    Ginseng & Cinnamon Tea
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  • By sue_stone on February 15, 2007
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  • Tea stall - Marrakesh
    Tea stall
    by sue_stone, 1 more photos
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    Besides the mint tea, during our time in Marrakech we also tried some ginseng & cinnamon tea. It was for sale in the evenings from several carts on Djemma El Fna. The tea is really really spicy and it is guaranteed to warm you up on a winters evening! The tea carts also serve this odd looking ginseng crumbly chocolate stuff that was apparently even spicier than the tea....well, from the looks on the faces of some of the tourists nearby who were eating it for the first time!

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    Mosques and 'Call to Prayer'
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  • By sue_stone on February 15, 2007
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  • Kasbah Minaret - where the noise comes from - Marrakesh
    Kasbah Minaret - where
    the noise comes from
    by sue_stone
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    Morocco is a Muslim country and therefore Marrakech is covered with mosques. Muslims must pray 5 times a day (called the salah), and at the appropriate times a 'call to prayer' or adhan will ring out across the city from every mosque. A nominated member of the mosque, called the muezzin, climbs to the top of the minaret (tower) and cries out the official chant through the loud speakers. The muezzin turns to each of the four compass points in turn while he calls out the adhan. This is a signal for Muslims to head to the nearest mosque to pray with their neighbours, or to at least pray at home. The Koutoubia muezzin is usually the first to sing out the adhan, calling out loud and clear across the city. Some of the smaller mosques use recordings these days. The call to prayer can be very loud, particularly when you are in an area when there are several mosques, all competing for attention. One of the 5 calls is at around 4am - guaranteed to wake you up unless you are a very heavy sleeper!

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    Paying to take photographs
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  • By sue_stone on February 15, 2007
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  • Entertainers on the square - Marrakesh
    Entertainers on the square
    by sue_stone, 1 more photos
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    One thing that I didn't really like about Marrakech was having to pay entertainers on Djemaa el-Fna if you took a photo of them, or they happened to be in the side of a photo you were taking of the square. I realise that is how they make their living, but I really resented it somehow - perhaps it is because I am used to taking lots and lots of photos and I felt really limited in Marrakech. And these entertainers are pretty crafty....It was quite amazing actually - at one stage I zoomed in from afar and took a photo of a band in the square. None of them were looking in our direction when the photo was taken. As we continued walking through the square one of the band members suddenly appeared beside me demanding money! I don't know how he saw me take the photo - I can only assume that they have 'spotters' looking out for people like me trying to be sneaky. The snake charmers seem to be the wiliest - I am sure they have eyes in the back of their heads! Best advice is to have a few small notes/coins in your pocket and pay for those 'must take' photos when required, 5 or 10 dirham should suffice.

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    Shopping & Haggling
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  • By sue_stone on February 15, 2007
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  • Slippers in the slipper market - Marrakesh
    Slippers in the slipper
    market
    by sue_stone
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    When you visit Marrakech you will no doubt spend some time exploring the colourful souqs (markets) and you may well want to make a purchase or two. Well, be prepared to haggle before you buy! In the souqs, you will find that there are no prices marked on any of the goods (except maybe in some of the 'proper' shops that are scattered through some parts of the markets). If you want 'fixed price' shopping then you will have to go to the New Town area. So, if you want to buy something you will need to ask the price. The trader will tell you a ridiculously high price which they don't really expect you to pay, and then you need to make a counter offer (I usually offer about a quarter of what they originally asked) and then you negotiate from there until you both agree on a price somewhere in the middle. It is ok to ask the price of something, but don't make an offer back yourself unless you are really serious about buying the item, as once the negotiation starts you are expected to buy the item at the end when the trader agrees to your offer.

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    The Pink City: The Pink City
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  • By diageva on February 16, 2004
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  • The Pink City - Marrakesh
    The Pink City
    by diageva
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    Well all the houses inside and, nearly all outside are pink ... why??? well the material with wich the outside wall makes the wall be pink, ... nowadays people MUST by law paint their houses that way ... to preserve the name of the "Pink City" ... I like that because its make Marrakech a unique place in the planet ... as I like andalucian villages from spain to be white .

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    Walk on the Right Side!
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  • Updated By suvanki on April 14, 2008
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  • Keeping to the right! - Marrakesh
    Keeping to the right!
    by suvanki
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    When wandering around the souks/ Medina/ Mellah areas, I was often advised by locals/guides etc to keep to the right side of the road/alleyway. Which suddenly reminded me of a line from 'Midnight Express' which I'd seen on TV a few days before my holiday (Yes, those Christmas/New Year TV repeats!) when the hero of the film decides to walk in the opposite direction to everyone else of his 'inmates' and he's reminded that '"a good Muslim always walks to the right" I've since found out this is also the practice in Venice, another city with narrow, crowded streets

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    Public Baths: Public Baths
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  • Updated By diageva on February 16, 2004
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  • Marrakech Souk - Marrakesh
    Marrakech Souk
    by diageva
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    In Marrakech I saw many public baths. Most of them are mixt, what means that some days in the week women use them and the rest of the days men do. From outside - I didn't get in - it didn't seams to be very atractive for me, but who knows if inside was a wonderful place (remember that a very old and poor wall can hide a incredible rich palace. I asked my guide if people use to go to the public baths much, and he told me that as the houses don't use to have bath they do.

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    Cooking at the hammam
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  • By travelmad478 on January 11, 2004
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  • Marrakesh Local Customs
    by travelmad478
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    One great custom that we took part in is the tradition of using the fires at the hammam (public steam baths) to cook food. In the morning, you put together your stew pot, then write your name on it and bring it to the local hammam. For a few dirhams, you can put your pot into the hot coals that stoke the steam baths, to slow-cook all day long. When you get it back, you've got a fantastic meal. We cooked several crocks of tangia (beef stew) this way, and saw these gentlemen at the hammam putting together their own stew pot.

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