Jamaa El F’na: the Key Landmark of Morocco

Jamaa El F’na:  the Key Landmark of Morocco

The pros and cons of Morocco's most famous landmark

Remember when getting to the zoo you marveled at all the beautiful, colorful exotic snakes which were put on display, then you read their labels and got surprised that despite all their beauty how very venomous they were? Well, the scenario is something very similar when it comes to Morocco’s top landmark, the beautiful and cacophonic Jamaa El’ F’na the large marketplace which is the key attraction everyone instantly heads to visit when they happen to stay in Marrakech. It’s beautiful but it can surely bite you in the ass in a second it you don’t pay attention.

On a positive note, Jamaa el F'na is a place you just cannot not visit. As well as being literally the entrance to the old town part also called as Medina, you would really lose out if you decided not to visit. The place is magical on its own right. You can get to see all sorts of people here coming from every single countries and corners of Africa. From snakecharmers to monkeys you can get to see tons of spectacles here which you can never see anywhere else. No matter it's midday or midnight this square is just stacked. Everyone, even those who grew up in Marrakech love to come here and hang out in here. Also, the closeness of the city' largest and most beautiful mosque the Al Koutoubiya with its huge park is just a short walk away! 

That’s exactly why I thought to give you some tips and advices to keep in mind, before getting lost in the crowd in this bustling marketplace. But before we get started let's learn a little bit about the history of this mystical, beautiful marketplace.

The history of Jamaa El F'na

The beautiful Jamaa El F'na and the neighboring Koutubia



With Jamaa meaning congregation and most likely refers to a holy mosque that was destroyed back in the days of Almoravid Dynasty and "Fna" or "F'na" which means either cemetery or a a space in front of a building, that can also be translated as park. This means that one way the name of Jamaa El Fna can be translacted as courtyard of a mosque or also as a "mosque or assemblance of the dead" . If the latter is true, the reason might be, that there has been public executions done in this huge square since 1000 after Christ.  

The Jamaa was founded by the previously mentioned Almoravid Dynastc around 1050 to axct as a parading and celebration place for the residents of the city to gather ( next to executions of course).  The city back in the day was way smaller so the city walls were originally located very close the Jamaa itself. The huge place also had hospitals and other public institutes that surrounded it, so it really acted as the big centre of the whole city back in the day. From then on it worked in this role which later on has also subsequently changed, transforming the whole square to become a huge marketplace and place for spectacles in itself.

In around 2000 when the laws on protecting national heritage  has become strong all across the world Morocco also has done the necessary steps, closed out traffic from the square and the Medina areas and started large renovation projects too. 

Later on, around 2008 Jamaa El F'na has become part of UNESCO Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity which means part of World Heritage. The landmark is one of the key symbols of both Marrakech and Morocco itself. You literally cannot leave Morocco until you came to see the majestic Jamaa El F'na. 

The huge square has several entrances to the similarly large Medina area which is unique and beautiful on its own right, it houses multipe beautiful soul areas and also several of Morocco's most important museums too. 

Life at Jamaa El Fna today

Despite being a large tourist favorite and being relartively safe, I would always suggest tourists to get a local guide to walk on it, particularly in its lovely Medina area.


• Jamaa El F’na is perhaps the most infamous place of all Morocco a country which is considered one of the safest in all the Arabic world. It is abound with criminals, thieves, Kif-sellers, scam artists and male prostitutes.

What are the most common Jamma El Fna scams?

• Animal – pic scam:  these can be snakes, parrots, eagles, monkeys. The all-smiling scam artist would then take a photo of you with the animal in question with an instant – cam then would ask for a ridiculously high amount of money for the pic. Don’t fall for it, you don’t have to take that photo. You can also mention police if they are very persistent. If you are good hearted offer him some coins for his services then get away.
• The henna artists – only choose those whose works you can observe on the spot and arrange the price in advance.
• The self-appointed guides: don’t fall for it no matter how nice these behave. You don’t know where they’d take you.  – This is especially for girls travelling without a male company.

  Further dangers:

• Thieves: where there is big crowd there are many thieves, so this one is pretty self-explanatory and doesn’t need any further elaboration.

• Street food   anyone who has seen a single photo of Jamaa El F’na knows that it’s full of street food stands and the smelly smoke is extremely tempting for many to try out their luck: but I would say steer clear from those stands. I ended up buying these meatballs for the first time and this led me to incredible stomach pains, so the next day I had to go to the doctor and had to take pills for the rest of my Marrakech stay. Do not buy food there. There are lots of well trusted places to do that.

AND FINALLY WHAT TO DO:  The Jamaa is as beautiful as it is dangerous but let’s not forget about all the things you cannot miss out on.

• Don’t miss out on visiting one of the rooftop cafés surrounding the Jamaa. It is easy to find them, you just need to look out for them. They generally are found on the main shopping street that leads to the big square. They are fun and you can stay there for hours and as an extra you can take some of the best photos of the Jamaa from one of these.  

Tip: check out the prices before you order.

• The Jamaa is also an entrance to the beautiful Medina quarter of Marrakech, housing one of the oldest and biggest Medinas in the country. Don’t miss out of this experience however steer clear from the dark narrow streets after dark.

• The best time to visit Jamaa El F’na is one or two hours before sunset, depending on how much time you would like to spend walking around.

Last but not least: as this is the top landmark of the whole country, it is understandable that everything is way more expensive over here than anywhere else in Morocco. Check out the Medina for goods, but don’t buy things in the Jamaa itself.

For more photos on Jamaa El F'na and Morocco please visit my Pinterest album on Morocco by clicking here.