Touring the Meknes Souk

Touring the Meknes Souk

The Meknes souk, as with Meknes generally, seems somehow easier to embrace than vast Fez. Getting lost here is difficult; it just isn't that big. Beginning from the Place el-Hedim, just past the ceramics stands, a narrow corridor leads into the food souk, a riotous display of everything from spices to fruit to multicolor olives. Work through the souk and emerge from the far-right corner; through the bird market outside and back to your right, in a corner, you'll find the fish market.

Continue right around the building, pass to the left of Dar Jamai, and you'll enter the Meknes souk. Continue straight in until you come to a T—on the left is a usually boisterous public auction area. The street crossing the T is the main artery through the souk. A left turn will take you through the Souk Nejjarine, the woodworkers' souk, and then into the rug and carpet souk. Farther on in this direction is the Souk Bezzarine, a general flea market along the medina walls. Farther up to the right are basket makers, iron smiths, leather workers, and saddle makers, and, near Bab el Djedid, makers of tents and musical instruments.

A right turn at the T will take you through Souk es Sebat and the souk's more formal section, beginning with the babouche (leather-slipper) market. At the first right, take a quick look at an ancient fondouk, now in ruins.

Back on the main street you'll pass Fondouk Oueda on the left, and, shortly thereafter, the Bou Inania Medersa.

Once again back on the main thoroughfare through the souk, you'll pass one of the mosque's 12 doors before reaching the camel-meat vendor on a left-hand corner at stall No. 15, identifiable by the toy camel hanging in front of his stand. The butcher is more than willing to open his refrigerator and haul out a camel head in case you have any doubts.

Turn left here, leaving the main street, and take an immediate right. On the left you'll see a brass door surrounded by colorful ornamentation; this is an old fondouk. Farther down on the left, at No. 91, is a beignet, a maker of fritters, or doughnuts, one of the few of these traditional artisans remaining. You will now be hit by a powerfully milky aroma from the laiterie (dairy shop) on the right-hand corner; this is a signal to turn right and proceed down into Place du Murier (named for its mulberry tree), where a 1,000-year-old mulberry, gnarled and about 3 feet in diameter, stands in the middle of what was once the salt vendors' souk. On the right, where he's seated in a bucket car seat at stall No. 27, meet celebrated zellij-tile artisan Ben Adada, whose father was also a well-known zellij maker and whose grandfather was one of the master craftsmen of Moulay Ismail's Royal Palace.

Turn right just past Ben Adada's place (taking a look left into the ancient wood-burning public bakery as you leave the square) and follow signs to the Palais des Idrissides, a wonderful 14th-century palace and carpet emporium.