Marrakech (in arab مراكش, translated Marrākiš) is a city located in southern Morocco, about 150 km from the Atlantic Ocean coast.
Close to the mountains of High and Mid Atlas, it is about 50 km from the Djebel Toubkal (4.165 m s.l.m.) massif, the highest peak of the country.
Marrakech is composed of the old town, called the medina, enclosed within walls, and the new town, built west of it.

Djemaa el Fnaa is the square where the old town is developed around, and it is Marrakech’s vital (and unique) center. At the center of the medina, it is bounded by the suq neighborhood to the north, the Kasbah to the east and the Kutubiyya mosque to the southwest.

The origin of the square is unknown, as well as the name, which could mean “defunct assembly” or “mosque of nothing” (jama‘a means both mosque and assembly).

Actually, both interpretations are plausible: if, on one hand, the square was part of a sa‘dide project (never finished) linked to the construction of a mosque, on the other the square was a venue for executions in the past.

The look of the square changes throughout the day: in the morning and afternoon it hosts an open-air marketplace, with fly-pitches selling different goods (from fabric to dates, orange juice, ostrich eggs, etc.) and “professionals” dedicated to activities such as henna decorating, tooth-drawing, snake charming etc. In the evening, the fly-pitches retreat while benches and tables are pulled out to eat fresh food, and later arrive musicians and storytellers.
Only few of these activities are for the tourists (mainly snake-charmers, acrobats and water sellers): the square is mainly frequented by Moroccans, with souvenir vendors are on the north side, next to the suq (closed markets, for Moroccans more than tourists).

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