A Night at Jeema-El-Fna

Lors

Thu, 3 Mar 2011 19:19:09 GMT

I am going to Marrakech in a few weeks - I loved your pics and can"t wait to get there!!!

fx

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:00:55 GMT

Glad you liked it!

Cat

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:03:49 GMT

found this website while checking wikipedia for the spelling for my blog. the pictures say much more than my word ever will! i found the stalls at jeema-el-fna to be more fun than the snack streets in beijing. cheers!

fx

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:22:56 GMT

Yes, but the former use of this square was perhaps less joyful. Was it not a place for public executions?

fx

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:21:13 GMT

Yes the Fisheye worked fine with the D300 good low light sensibility. I am eagerly waiting for Nikon"s new full frame camera though!

fx

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:20:24 GMT

Ah Frans you must know so many good places in Marrakech, this is a really interesting place to explore!

fx

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:38:57 GMT

Yes you are bound to love it!

casseroles

Wed, 6 Jan 2010 09:16:32 GMT

Great food, how I love the snail. How I love to go at Jeema-El-FNA for a night out. I would probably include it in my lists for our plan vacation.

Frans

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:18:14 GMT

. . . sorry oops! I hit return by accident . . . What a fun time to explore local street food. And your photos there are incredible. The Nikon D300 is such a great camera. Your choice of lenses and framing of subjects/still shots are extraordinary. Well done to capture the chaos of a night in the square, but also highlight the joy and mystery of wandering from stall to stall, exploring . . . thx for your blog.

Frans

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:04:25 GMT

Oh, wow! I lived for 3 years in Marrakech and your photos truly bring out the wonder and bountiful feast that is offered each night in Djemaa el Fna. I still have my favourite stalls and remember their numbers to this day. What a

Ouaatirou Abderrahman

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:02:46 GMT

Jeemaa El Fna in The eyes of Westerns:
First of All thank you very much for these important information about the place. In fact, this place is an old place and it was a simple in market In old Amazigh dynasties. In addition , it was not as it is now, I mean all activities which are taking place now in this zone are just lies. Moroccan Gov is trying to change the place from a cultural one into a "place for selling and buying in cultures".
N.B : I am very interested in this place, and I can supply anyone with hidden issues about it.

Pedro Silva

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:59:54 GMT

I have been there last year. As a portuguese I loved to see where did came from the arabic influence in Portugal in simple thins like: eating snails, the doors architecture...
A mitical place this square.

fx

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:12:07 GMT

Andrea, thanks for visiting! Indeed with the Nikon D300 one can manage to grab some presentable shots of action scenes without a flash. Have a look at my Calorie Bomb section for an homage to some of the finest delicacies in the street food from the British Isles!

Andrea Kirkby

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:57:33 GMT

Very much enjoyed your article. I regard street food as a vivid expression of a nation"s culture (we English alas don"t have enough of it - our pie and mash shops are dying out) and enjoy sampling it wherever I go.

I also enjoyed your pics - not just the fish eye but the fact that they"re taken without flash, so you get the true feel of night-time spaces lit by flares and single light bulbs. A real authentic feeling of the Djemaa el Fna at its best!

fx

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:41:26 GMT

Lisa, the best and most memorable of them all is called Dar Yakout, don"t miss that! For other restaurants try to avoid the Morrocan menu whenever possible or you"ll die of stomach explosion, it"s so filling and repetitive. Have a nice trip!

lisa

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 10:40:16 GMT

hello! i"m heading to marrakesh in a couple of days and i stumbled onto your blog. wondering if you could possibly recommend any incredible restaurants?

fx

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:11:04 GMT

Jeannette, thanks for your kind words!

Jet Nemon

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:36:05 GMT

Loved your article & photos of the Morrocan ope food market. As I read, I felt as if I were actually there;
A sure sign that you"re a most vivid & entertaining travel/food writer. Keep up the great work!!

-Jeannette

fx

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 09:21:32 GMT

Allison, thanks for your appreciation! Morocco is not the most difficult destination for students, from the UK there are many low-cost flights, maybe that will be within your reach sooner than you think! Meanwhile I"ll bring more fine things to your screen!

allison

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 04:16:32 GMT

I am soooooo in love with your blog!! Everything is so wonderful and interesting and just inspiring! Saving up for morocco one day but being a student will take a while... looking forward to each and every new post. Keep up the good work and keep it coming!!

fx

Wed, 4 Jun 2008 13:39:37 GMT

Andy, thanks for visiting and I"ll try to visit the Atlas next time!

Andy

Tue, 27 May 2008 09:00:33 GMT

Just back from Marrakech. Great photos!
Trisha, there were many people old enough to have visited as hippies way back when.
We took Easyjet to Madrid and then to Marrakech. Also booked accommodation on-line.
3/4 days is enough to see the place, but try a trip into the Atlas mountains-the waterfall at Ouzoud is worth seeing.
Andy

Trisha Lin

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:11:05 GMT

Hi
Thanks for the info and making the place look so exciting to vist. To that end I"m in the process in planning a trip. Do you know of any restriction about the place. ie are there days that the place is closed or days to avoid. Also as I am getting on a bit would it be safer for me to travel in a group and if so do you know of any organised holiday companies or where I could find further information.
Thank you for your help and I"m really hoping to visit soon.
Best Regards
Trisha

fx

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 04:31:06 GMT

Barbara I hope you get to visit Marakech some day, a gorgeous place!

barbara

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 01:18:06 GMT

I love the photos. I"m envious of your experience.

DavidG

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 02:24:48 GMT

Great shots!

fx

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:49:49 GMT

Thuan, you will love Marrakech, it is a gorgeous city of many delights. The pictures just give you a glimpse of what there is.

Thuan

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:03:22 GMT

Your pictures make me feel as if I was already there... yet also makes me want to visit it all the more. Perplexing conundrum

Cynthia

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:20:12 GMT

I am so jealous!The lens really made the pics fantastic.

fx

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:05:41 GMT

Rob I am not surprised you got sick in Morocco. I visited just after India so my food hygiene was verging on the monastic, but if you eat fresh vegetables or fruits, the shit is bound to hit the fan someday.

fx

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:54:43 GMT

Dancy you a right, I will update my About page! If you wait a year I"m sure many more cameras will have the same see-in-the-dark capabilities.

Rob L

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:47:00 GMT

Went here a few years ago. We ate in the square three nights in a row. Lovely food but on the morning after the third night I was so ill I literally shit myself for the first and last time in my life...

dancy

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 02:36:24 GMT

Hi, FX, thank you for such a swift response! D300, emmm, that make sense. But probably you may modify the information in "About"? Because it really makes me feel Cannon 40D is absolutely not a rival of Nikon D80 :)

fx

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:52:52 GMT

Dancy, thanks for your appreciation! The lens is a 10.5 Nikkor Fisheye, which accounts for the immersive pictures. But the night action was captured thanks to the Nikon D300 uncanny ability to see in the dark. Most of these pictures were taken at 2000 ISO and there is very little noise. Flash would not give you the same shapes and textures, and a tripod would result in blurry pictures of anything human (they move around!). This is a new breed of pictures made possible by this camera and its older brother, the Nikon D3.

dancy

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:13 GMT

This is my first time to drop by your wonderful blog. The pictures are stunningly beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing! Just one question: what lens did you use for these night-market shots? How can you make it so clear, vivid and artistic! I just couldn"t help wondering, with a DSLR and tripod (maybe?), would many people stare at you and even stop you?

fx

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:11:32 GMT

Myriam thank you for your comment! I am most sorry to torture your stomach, but rest assured it is a calorie-free ordeal. I recommend you try the pigeon pastilla, you can substitute the warka with bought filo. It is thinner than brik leaves. Let me know if you try any other recipes!

fx

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 14:09:19 GMT

Barry, I think the bugs, like the tourists, come during the summer. Visit Marakesh during the winter and you"ll have very few of either.

Myriam

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:57:33 GMT

Fx, your website is a real delight for the eyes and a torture for the stomach! I"m drooling everytime I come here and the number of your recipes on my to-do list is growing much too fast. I"ve tried and loved your pumpkin risotto, and your latest posts on bastella and your trip to Marrakech have taken me back to beloved memories. Thanks.

Barry Barcrest

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 07:52:40 GMT

Why didn"t you mention the amount of bugs in that place, the electric lights attract them by the thousands and the food is covered in them. Your pictures are cool but don"t seem to show this.

fx

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:41:51 GMT

Wanda thanks a lot for your visit, I think sheep heads are an acquired taste most of us will just never acquire. You can get a good idea of what it"s like to eat the sheep head and the eyes in the dinner scene just before the showdown in James Bond 007 Octopussy.

fx

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:33:25 GMT

John, you definitely have to go to Morocco, it is one perfect destination for high quality exoticism. I don"t know how long it takes from Sweden but you must have some direct flights! The pig jowls are not so common in Morocco for obvious reasons. I don"t know if the Italians eat them fresh, the only I have seen are dried. It is not the very best cut in itself and requires long cooking. Thanks for visiting!

fx

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:28:02 GMT

Cheese puff, you are welcome to translate this articlein chinese if you want! Just make sure you link back to the original!

fx

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:18:35 GMT

Michael this is a great idea, next time I"m down there in Marakesh I"ll try to find a high vantage point to see the food merchants moving in hour by hour!

Wanda

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 17:57:09 GMT

Fantastic photos, I felt as though I had been transported to the Marakesh markets.Funnily enough, although I lived on a sheep station in New Zealand I never ate sheeps head, made brawn from pigs heads though.Excellent read as always.RegardsWandawww.only-cookware.com

John Montgomery Rouse

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 23:33:58 GMT

Francois, my wife is still urging us to grab the children for a weekend and all go - as always you put us there - I would definitely try the sheep head. Different cultures use different approaches, and different animals, in England the delicacy is pig cheeks, called Bath chaps - I believe the Italian"s call this dish Guanciale? Mrs Beeton recommends boiling then breadcrumbing and says it has the same flavour, with more marbling through it, as a York ham. I"m told that in England the dish is all but impossible to get these days...

cheese_puff

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:49:34 GMT

Hi, Fx~ Can you do me a favor? Some of my friends in China get very interested in your articles, but they couldn"t read english. Can I reprint your blog in Chinese? I will make it clear that I am just a translator. I take it upon myself to introduce you to my fellow chinese people. Thanks a lot!! ( you don"t have to show this comment, of course. :))

Michael

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:23:51 GMT

It would be amazing to see a time lapse video of Jeema-el-Fna changing from what it is in the day to what it is in the night, I"d imagine it"d be like watching a flower bloom!

fx

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:29:54 GMT

Thanks Stephen, it"s really easier to show than tell when it comes to food!

fx

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:25:53 GMT

Cheese puff, I"m glad my pictures dragged you into the market and hope you"ll have a chance to visit it someday - it really is a memorable sight!

fx

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:22:22 GMT

Joanna, I"m glad you like my fisheye lens! It is definitely the right tool for crowded markets. I hope they didn"t throw the snakes on you when you were there!