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Article: Marrakech: City of souks, snakes, and side trips
- Article from:
- Oakland Tribune
- Article date:
- July 31, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 Oakland Tribune. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Smoke rises like thin clouds above the Jemaa El Fna, the public
square at the center of Marrakech. It is dusk, and white-robed food
vendors tame hissing flames as they grill kebabs, simmer sheep heads
and saute snails.
The music is hypnotic. Berbers, the original inhabitants of
Morocco, play long, mystical strains of a percussive groove, while
the Gnawa, descendants of the Sudan, draw throngs of tourists with
their drum-and-bass beats. Snake charmers and transvestite belly
dancers compete for the camera, while a shoeless girl begs for
money.
The scene is the most intense blend of sights, sounds and scents
I have ever witnessed, and it is the first thing I tell friends who
ask me if I think ...