by 
Djemaa el Fna, the central square in Marrakech, was calling to me a long time before I finally arrived. You read about it as one of those intense, extreme cultural experiences that you’ll love or hate, and it sounded like a place I had to experience for myself. I wasn’t disappointed!
Marrakech as a whole is a beautiful, crumbling labyrinth with surprises round every corner, but Djemaa el Fna is the culture-shock motherlode. We had arrived late in Marrakech and were ready to grab some dinner by the time we’d checked in to our outlandishly gorgeous ‘riyad’ guest house.
We headed straight for the square, dodging snake charmers, tea-sellers and henna-muggers (the kind who paint you as you go by, then demand ‘bakshish’!), and burst out of the souk into total chaos.
Hundreds of stalls lay in ranks up and down the square, selling every spicy, fruity, sugary and meaty delight you can imagine! We wandered amongst the stalls for an hour, just inhaling unfamiliar aromas and stopping for performing monkeys and child acrobats. When we saw the gruesome sheep heads on poles, we knew we’d found the place we had to eat. Well, when in Rome…
If you can ignore the jelly substance that I queasily imagined had something to do with eyes, this poor-man’s meal of sheep head and rice is quite delicious, in a doner kebab kind of way. The whole head is steamed over a bouillon until the meat just falls away. Just make sure you don’t watch as the skull is fished out of the pan. It’s not nearly as good for the digestion as the omnipresent mint tea.
Comments
natpower says...
That's awesome - does anyone know where I can try monkey brains?!
Posted 475 days ago.
noodletime says...
I was thinking the whole live snake thing, like in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Posted 475 days ago.
Alexandra says...
Monkey brains are a Chinese delicacy, but I can't recommend any live snake restaurants, I'm afraid!
Posted 474 days ago.
sara says...
I'm impressed by your willingness to dive in and eat what the most bizarre thing you can find even if it is a sheep's head. Henna muggers--nice warning. And thanks for the video. Now I know what it really looks like there, and I have a sense of what it feels like.
Posted 471 days ago.
lucysoff says...
My visit here was far too brief- this wonderfully written piece has given me a great idea of what it might be like past about 5 in the evening! Sheep heads 'n all....
Posted 456 days ago.
marisabella says...
Morocco has been calling to me for a long time, too. How did you feel about safety there?
Posted 452 days ago.
Alexandra says...
Do you mean personal safety, as in muggings etc, or terrorism-related safety? The latter was not an issue at the time I visited. As regards the former, it's no worse than any European city and I think if you take the usual precautions you've nothing to worry about. Don't forget about covering up too though, if you want to be treated with respect. I saw too many girls in hotpants and strappy tops getting offended by the attention from local men!
Posted 445 days ago.
intotheflame says...
sounds like my kind of place! i've been wanting to go to morocco for some years now...beautiful pictures and wonderfully written, thank you.
in iran people eat sheep's heads and hoofs for ... breakfast!! personally i can only manage the brains...good on you for trying it.
Posted 408 days ago.
DanaPalamara says...
Sheeps heads aside, I want to go to Morocco even more after reading this and watching your video - thanks Alexandra
Posted 257 days ago.
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