I have a habit of observing the sunset of Jemaa el-Fna on
the third floor of Café de France, a classic since the time of the French
protectorate in Moroccan lands. Not only does it have the tradition of the
place itself, but it also has the best views of the square at any time of the
day.
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| credit : Pixabay |
The Jemaa el-Fna square, the biggest show in Marrakech
The Jemaa el-Fna square lives each day as an organic process
characterized by having more regularity than it seems at first sight. Dawn with
parsimony, as if you need time to remove the stench from your eyes. It gives
the sensation that it is not able to intuit what is going to happen to him
until well into the night. The early risers are the sellers of natural juices,
with their fruit in perfect condition. You squeeze them right there and they
come to charge 4 dirhams the orange juice (approx 40 cents), raising some
dirham more if they add lemon or if, instead, you choose a good pomegranate
juice, which tastes delicious and is all a sales success One, the truth, is
unable to say no to a similar proposal.
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| Credit : Pixabay |
A succession of follies in one place
When the sun begins to beat until it becomes insatiable, the
merchants who have placed their goods well in their corresponding position
(souvenirs, crafts, t-shirts, djellaba, hookahs, lamps, etc.) increase the
proximity with passers-by. The tourist here is an easy target. Too easy, I
would say. A greeting, a smile and you see them inside the store trying on some
slippers that come great and haggling as if you were the life with your last
dirham.
The next attraction is accompanied by a noise of piccolos.
Snake charmers are the protagonists of the show that takes place in the center
of the square. Several cobras, move to the sound of music. There are also
snakes of different sizes, which awaken the curiosity of the passers-by. But
while you watch the scene from afar (enough so that reptiles do not approach
you from behind), someone with a monkey from the barber shop appears on his
shoulders. I have to admit that I trust these macaques less than a banker.
Years ago one of them climbed on top of me and then I went to relieve myself of
my recently bought coat (the monkey, not the banker, although the circumstance
is similar in both cases).
And when chaos takes over the square, women who tattoo with Moroccan
henna, those on the terraces, offer you a mint tea and more merchants using
your mother tongue as if they had all studied at the Cervantes Institute
itself. In Morocco there is a theory that there is no better language academy
than running a trade. There you become polyglot by force.
The best views of Marrakech's Jemaa el-Fna Square
At about four or four thirty, chairs and tables are placed
at one end to form the best open-air restaurant in Marrakech. Those who love
street food have great news in all these places. The smoke from the first coals
indicates that Jemaa el-Fna, THE SQUARE with capital letters, is in full
boiling. And it is just at this moment when I usually look for a refuge to
escape to see better from the barrier. For this there are no better sanctuaries
that I can think of than the terraces of bars or cafes, places where one can
mark distances and dedicate oneself to contemplating what happens below.
I have already tried a few, but my favorite is the third
floor of Café de France. The second one also suits me, although it is less
diaphanous to take pictures. Once up I ask for a mint tea or, if I crave it, a
delicious avocado milkshake with milk (they prepare a spectacular one). And
enter sip and sip attending the movement of the last character of the
afternoon, the sun. The next few minutes are the most vibrant and colorful. The
noise increases while an apparently controlled chaos takes over the square.
Meanwhile the sun has as a rule to hide at one end of the Kutubiya forming a
horizon of fire that is wiggled by the noise of the drums.
Sunset of fire in the great minaret
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| credit : Pixabay |
This splendid minaret, brother of the Giralda of Seville and
the unfinished minaret of Rabat, stands as the only lighthouse of a city that
rushes over the flames of an undeniable sunset. The sunset leaves a black
silhouette that contrasts with a completely orange wall. Meanwhile the clouds
absorb certain violet tones to color their soft blue cottons.
And more music. And more smell of kefta on the embers. And
more medium-haired fortune tellers guessing the future (or whatever they can
green him) with a Spanish deck of Heraclio Fournier (who else). A whole
succession of events that explains why UNESCO included this place in 2008 as
Intangible Heritage of Humanity because it is "one of the main cultural
spaces of Marrakech and a symbol of the city since its founding in the eleventh
century."
With the last ray of sun disappearing after the Kutubiya it
is time for the call to prayer. Each and every one of the mosques in Marrakech
sounds simultaneously with chants that remind their faithful that Allah is the
greatest and that Muhammad is their prophet, as well as that it is time to pray
with the heart looking towards Mecca. It is then when from the terrace of the
Café de France you can see a couple of minutes in which the sacredness makes
its way over the banalities of the square. The muezzin after his excited song
turns off his throat and finally the night arrives at the Jemaa e-Fna.
