Market sights in Fès
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A
Attarine Souks
There's a cluster of souks just off the Talaa that are worth exploring. Coming from Bab Bou Jeloud, the first is Souk Triba, meaning 'square in shape', with a small orange tree and some cosmetic and electronic shops. Walk through to Souk Tallis where sacks for wool and wheat were sold. Now there's a carpet stall and several shops selling cloth for jellabas (cloak with a hood) - though many of the shops are now closed.
Continue through to the next souk, L'Hayek (;09:00-12:30 & 15:00-17:00 Sat-Thu), which refers to the white cloth used for women's clothes. These days there are jellabas, gandoras (men's embroidered jacket and pants) and jabadors (garment worn under a jellaba…
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B
Henna Souk
One of the oldest market places this souk, off Talaa Kebira, has graceful plane trees shading the stalls selling ceramics and traditional cosmetics, including henna. The mohtassib (price-controller), now defunct, had his office here and you can still see his large scales. On one side is the restored Maristane Sidi Frej, a former psychiatric hospital built by the Merinids in the 13th century. Leo Africanus worked here as a young man. It's now a small kissaria (covered market).
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C
Achebine Souk
This street formerly housed traditional medicine shops; there's one left, with jars of snakeskins, birds in cages, live chameleons, gazelle horns and skins on the walls. Nowadays it's a bird market - locals buy chickens and turkeys, doves and pigeons. There are lots of food stands here and the air is thick with smoke from kefta (spiced meatballs of lamb or beef) kebabs being grilled.
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D
L'marqtane
Follow a dark passage into this enclosed square north of Sagha and imagine being sold: this used to be an old slave market. Now it's a second-hand clothing market in the mornings (hugely crowded at weekends). A good search can turn up superb antique velvet caftans rich with silver embroidery, or a silk takshita (garment worn over a caftan) for weddings.
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E
Funduq Kaat Smen
Shops here are devoted to the sale of smen (rancid butter), olive oil, khlia (preserved meat) and honey. Chez Nafis Chergui has wild rosemary, orange flower or eucalyptus honey, argan oil (produced from the fruit of the argan tree) and olive oil. There are a couple of carpet shops at the entrance to the funduq.
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F
Chemmaine Souk
Near the Kairaouine Mosque, this was once the place to buy candles. It's now resplendent with colourful embroidered velvet outfits for weddings and circumcisions, wedding chairs, fezzes and, curiously, lots of dried-fruit and nut stalls. The Chemmaine Funduq is in bad disrepair and is not open to the public.
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G
Qbieb Naqes
This little street is full of food stands. The qbieb (water conduit) itself is the small arched fountain at this crossroads in the middle of Sagha. Undecorated and seemingly insignificant, it was the main water conduit for this area and therefore an important element of daily life.
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