Djeema el Fna

The Djeema el Fna was a performance well worth the 4 hour plane ride and 4 hour train it took to see. Never had I been somewhere so exotic as Morocco, Africa. I got off the plane and timidly ordered my train ticket to Marrakech embarrassed at my inability to speak neither Arabic nor French. After spending a day hiking through the mountains, my travel companion and I decided to check out the famous medina and all it had to offer. Not long after stepping foot in the market place were we harassed by a monkey man who practically threw his two monkeys on us and we literally had to fight with the monkeys to get them off, desperately peeling off the monkeys’ nails.

The man persisted and we could not help but smile, take a picture, and give him a few dirham. Only a few feet away were the snake charmers. In my fear of snakes I certainly hoped they knew what they were doing. Just for glancing the men brought over a hat demanding dirham for the show, and we obliged but were a bit savvier from that point on. Our lesson learned: try not to make eye contact with anyone you do not want to give money. Food stand owners tried to entice us with various techniques including: “I can tell you are a nice guy, so I will give you a great deal” and “Free mint tea!” The food was great and offered some very interesting dishes such as hot snails and pigeon pie. Glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice were delicious and ran about thirty cents. It was always a mystery as to whether an item would taste delicious or would be a burden to eat; some looked good and tasted bad, while others sounded unenticing but we could not get enough. All around us tourists were getting henna tattoos on their skin or being followed by monkey men or being shown some strange body abnormality by street performer. The souks behind the square sold various Moroccan souvenirs and specialties including leather goods, tea pots, jewelry and more food. Getting lost was easy as all the stalls seemed very repetitive in their products. It was fun just to listen to the bargaining and how a price could be reduced by more than half so quickly because a shop owner right nearby would have the same item. I don’t think anyone could possibly go to the square and not be entertained. It definitely came more alive at night, as when we came the next day for lunch it had less than half the stalls and way less people. The smells, sounds, and sights all made this an unforgettable performance, as well as a unique way to experience the culture. I had no idea before I went that this is a site UNESCO strives to protect as an important site rich in history and tradition.
Though this square was intended for performance, ultimately my whole experience in Morocco felt like a performance as it seemed so foriegn and unbelievable compared to my life in the US. It was a life so different from mine it almost seemed unreal. At the same time I also felt like I was being watched and had to put on a performance of my own, trying to be as conservative as possible in hopes to fit in with the surrounding culture. Even in the intense heat the women wore concealing outfits and headscarves so I tried to do my best as well. A very interesting trip.
Rachel Samec, UCSB