Rahba Kedima Spice Market

Rahba Kedima means the old square and it was a grain market; it is now the spice square of the Marrakech souks - an open space ringed by stalls with cones of cumin, paprika, ginger, turmeric, ras el-hanout, saffron and dried rose, alongside baskets, hats, straw work and dried herbs in sacks. One corner is different and is what makes the square worth a stop: the apothecaries selling material for traditional medicine and for magic, which openly includes dried chameleons, hedgehog spines, tortoise shells, snake skins, porcupine quills and other animal parts used in gris-gris and in practices around love, protection and cursing. That trade is a real part of Moroccan life and it is also, in the wildlife parts, a conservation problem that researchers have documented - several of the species sold are protected. Cafes on the terraces above the square give the view down into it.

What you actually see

• Spice cones and sacks - cumin, paprika, ras el-hanout and dried rose round an open square.
• An apothecary corner - material for traditional medicine and for magic, sold openly.
• Animal parts in trade - chameleons, shells and quills, several from protected species.
• Terrace cafes - looking down into the square from above.

When to go

October to April; mornings. An hour.

Honest expectations

Saffron and ras el-hanout sold here are frequently adulterated - buy spices where you can see them ground. The animal parts trade includes protected species and buying it is a bad idea legally and otherwise. Photographing the apothecary stalls is often refused. Prices start very high for visitors.

Nearby

Souk Semmarine runs south to the Jemaa el-Fna; the tanneries are north-east.